


Step Into The Circle

by HaleHathNoFury (My_Trex_has_fleas)



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alchemy, Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Angst and Feels, Canon-Typical Violence, Clumsiness, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Dorks in Love, FMA AU, Fluffyish, Full Shift Werewolves, Human Transmutation, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Mentioned Laura Hale, Mutual Pining, Politics, Teenage Drama, accidental eletrocution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21791005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Trex_has_fleas/pseuds/HaleHathNoFury
Summary: A Fullmetal Alchemist AU.Stiles Stilinski is a trainee alchemist at the State Academy of Alchemy in Beacon City with a knack for getting himself and his friends into trouble. He longs for the day when somebody will take him seriously and he manages to talk to Derek Hale - gorgeous, moody and completely terrifying - without accidentally electrocuting him.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 65
Kudos: 213
Collections: The Sterek Secret Santa - Edition 2019





	1. The Academy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kaye_Fraser](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaye_Fraser/gifts).



> My gift for kayfraser for the Sterek Secret Santa 2019 :DDD I hope you like it and sorry for the rather elaborate storyline lol. It kind of got away from me. Updates will be weekly as fic is completed.

The bell rang but Stiles was so engrossed that he didn’t realise he’d be late until Scott appeared next to him and grabbed him by the sleeve of his uniform. 

‘Dude!’ His huge brown eyes were pleading. ‘We’re going to be late!’ 

‘Shit.’ Stiles dropped the book he was scouring through and made a face. ‘Harris already hates me. He’s going to take pleasure in turning me into something unnatural if I’m late again this week.’

‘I know.’ Scott bundled him out of his chair and towards the library exit. ‘Come on, if we cut through the back quad we could still make it on time.’

‘The back quad.’ Stiles skidded to a halt. ‘No way, man. That’s where the seniors hang out.’

‘So?’ Scott frowned. ‘It’s the quickest way.’ 

‘Yes, that’s true.’ Stiles squirmed while he tried to come up with a reasonable answer. ‘It’s just…’ He looked at Scott and saw the judgement written all over his face. ‘Oh, come on. Like you’ve never made an ass out of yourself in front of Allison before.’

‘Allison at least knows I like her, which is why she’s my girlfriend.’ Scott countered, folding his arms. ‘You’ve been pining over Derek for an entire five years and all you’ve managed to do is electrocute him and avoid him in the corridors.’ 

‘Ugh.’ Stiles hung his head. ‘I know. It’s just he’s got those stupid eyes that change colour and shoulders for days and legs that don't quit…’ He trailed off, his eyes glazing over a little in the face of the unhuman hotness that was Derek Sebastian Hale (and Stiles was definitely not telling how he’d broken into the admin office to compulsively read Derek’s student record and so find out his middle name).

The second bell rang and they both nearly jumped out of their skins. 

‘Crap.’ Stiles’ shoulders drooped. ‘We’re so fucked.’

‘Speak for yourself, buddy.’ Scott grumbled, dragging him down the corridor. ‘If Harris gives us detention, you’re doing all my laundry for a week.’

-

Harris did indeed give them detention, his pale blue eyes gleaming when Scott and Stiles attempted to sneak into the back of the lecture hall unseen. Now he stood in front of them, an unpleasant smirk on his face as he handed back their assignments from the previous week. 

‘Stilinski.’ His lip curled in a sneer. ‘You’re lucky that your acceptance to the State Academy of Alchemy was not my decision to make or you’d be bounced out of here so quickly you wouldn’t even hit the ground for a hundred yards.’ He unceremoniously dropped a sheaf of papers on Stiles’ desk and kept moving and Stiles picked them up. He glared at the red ‘F’ at the top of his paper and fumed. Next to him Scott gave him a sympathetic look. 

‘Sorry.’ he whispered. ‘I know you spent most of the time helping me with mine.’ 

‘It’s okay.’ Stiles muttered back. It was true though. Scott was an appallingly untalented military alchemist, his powers more in line with natural influences. He excelled at biological alchemy used for healing and making things grow but because his father Colonel Rafael McCall was a high up in the State Alchemy hierarchy, Scott had been forced to enroll instead of taking up a position in the medical arts he’d been offered by the hospital Melissa McCall worked for. Thankfully, he’d been taken under the wing of Senior Medic Alan Deaton and Stiles desperately hoped that he’d be allowed to apprentice to the older alchemist because Scott made a terrible soldier. 

There was a smug noise a couple of seats down from them and Stiles leaned forward a little to see Lydia Martin giving her assignment a pleased look, flicking her perfect strawberry blond braid over one shoulder. He didn’t need to see it to know that she’d scored a perfect A+. Lydia was arrogant and beautiful and rumoured to be more brilliant than anyone else at the academy. She specialised in particularly complicated alchemy and the darker rumours hinted at forbidden transmutations. Stiles had thought she was the most amazing creature on the planet all the way through school. Of course that was before he’d joined the Academy, Lydia had ended up being his best friend instead of anything else and he'd discovered that terrifyingly brilliant was actually his type. 

Next to her was another young woman, this one with a long dark braid and dimples that could serve as water wells in their own right. Allison Argent was another legacy. Her father and grandfather were both high ranking state alchemists, as had her mother when she was still alive, and while she only managed general transmutations, Allison was a very skilled fighter and expert marksman. She could transmute practically anything into a weapon and Stiles had seen Scott actually cry over how perfect her martial form was. Thankfully she was also sunshine personified and their friend, otherwise the two of them would never have passed their weapons module the year before. 

Stiles sat back and regarded his essay. He knew Harris hated him and was used to poor grades. His own alchemy was something quite unique, unlike Harris’ relatively poor attempts at chimeric magic that he never got quite right. It had come from his father’s side of the family, although Noah Stilinski was better known as a soldier than an alchemist. His father was a brilliant man in his own right, even without magic, and he ran the City’s Watch with an even handed fairness. It was widely said that he was the most honest man in the State Military and very much respected, which was why Stiles always felt like he was a colossal disappointment. He was considered a troublemaker and upstart, his electrical alchemy thought to be highly unstable and a danger to those around him. 

Class was finally over and he trudged out, the others following him. He was so morose, he didn’t even try and stop Lydia from snatching his paper. 

‘Oh my.’ Her dark green eyes were narrowed as she read the scathing comments Harris had left. ‘You do realise that you could absolutely have him for bullying with this bullshit.’

‘Don’t.’ Stiles took it back from her. ‘I’m not even a qualified alchemist yet. You know they’d take his side if I made a complaint.’ 

‘It’s not right through.’ Allison’s mouth turned down. ‘I could talk to my dad if you want?’

‘Oh no.’ Stiles shook his head vehemently. ‘That is definitely not happening.’ 

‘Fine, we’ll drop it.’ Lydia said. ‘For now.’ 

They walked along the long cloistered walk towards the gymnasium and Stiles got lost in his head about what he should do about Harris. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t see the person in front of him until he walked right into a solid wall of muscle and fell over on his ass. He gasped when he looked up into a pair of kaleidoscopic eyes surmounted by dark bushy eyebrows that could convey I will end you without uttering a word. 

‘Oh God.’ He tried to scoot back on his ass, flailing very unattractively as he did so. ‘Please don’t kill me.’

Towering above him and dressed immaculately in the black braided greatcoat that indicated a recently qualified senior student, Derek Hale rolled his eyes and made no offer to help him up. The exasperated expression on his face was spectacular and inherently genetic. Their Offensive Alchemy professor was his uncle, Peter Hale, and he had the exact same eye roll as did Derek’s younger sister Cora, who was in First Year. Stiles had never met the celebrated war hero, youngest major-general of the State Military and current Hale pack alpha Laura Hale, currently away and defending the Northern border, but he’d heard she could cow an entire battalion with a single eyebrow so it would stand to reason that the eye roll was probably also part of her repertoire. 

‘Get up, Stilinski.’ he drawled. ‘You’re embarrassing yourself.’

‘No, leave him. This is the best entertainment I’ve had all day.’ This came from the willowy blonde next to Derek with a razor sharp smile. Erica Reyes was an elemental alchemist that specialised in air alchemy, a notoriously difficult form that allowed her to manipulate its density to produce concussive waves and also create impenetrable shields. She was also one of Laura’s pack, a werewolf as were his other two friends that stood behind her. The more cherubic of the two was Isaac Lahey, a specialist in manipulating time to move quicker than sight and Vernon Boyd, Derek’s best friend and a steel alchemist that wore his strength enhancing semi-gaunts inscribed with his transmutation circle openly and who roughly the size and shape of a tank. There were many running jokes about the four of them and some unsavoury rumours as well, not helped by the fact that Derek was said to be an elemental alchemist although nobody was actually sure what his true power was because he only ever used general transmutations, although Stiles probably knew more than most because he’d seen the notation in Derek’s student record that alluded to a sealed part of the documents that was classified. 

‘Erica.’ Boyd rumbled before he sidestepped Derek and held out a hand to Stiles. ‘Come on, get up. You look ridiculous.’ 

‘Thanks.’ Stiles muttered but he took the hand and tried not to look horribly impressed when Boyd lifted him as if he weighed nothing. He was stupidly strong and people had a tendency to compare him with the fabled Alex Louis Armstrong, except with more hair and far less self-regard. 

He dusted himself off and the pack swept past him in a swirl of black greatcoats. Derek was the last to leave and when he did it was with a glint of fang as he gave Stiles a smile that looked way beyond predatory and equal parts boner inducing and pant shittingly terrifying. 

‘Try to look where you’re going in future.’ he growled and Stiles curled in on himself. 

‘Whatever Sourwolf.’ he muttered under his breath and then nearly shrieked when Scott’s hand came down on his shoulder. 

‘Damn.’ He looked as relieved as Stiles felt that he’d not been eaten. ‘Dude. You really have a knack for getting yourself into it.’

‘No kidding.’ Stiles glanced at Derek’s path through the cloister corridor, scattering junior students in his wake. ‘It’s like dancing with death, if death were a grumpy gorgeous asshole. Apparently bathing in the blood of your enemies gives you a glowing complexion and perfect stubble, in spite of it being against regulations.’

‘I don’t why know he intimidates you so much.’ Lydia buffed her nails on the front of her jacket. Fifth years wore short jackets with red braid instead of the black braided greatcoats that the qualified senior sixth years wore and she made it look as elegant as any evening gown, maybe even more so. 

‘That’s because you’re both beautiful people.’ Stiles snorted. ‘The only reason you hang out with us plebs is because we make you look even better.’ 

‘Not a lie.’ The chuckle behind him made Stiles roll his eyes. It was Jackson and Danny, the only other couple in their year that could even match up with Allison and Scott for cuteness, even though their relationship was based more on mutual insult. Jackson was the adopted son of General David Whittemore, Noah Stilinski’s senior officer in the Home Guard, and he was forever trying to prove that he belonged in the Academy on his own merits, which were pretty damn good. He was a transformation alchemist, able to change his shape and take on the appearance of something else. His current alternate form was scaly and able to walk on the ceiling like a lizard, a sharp contrast to his human looks, and something Stiles enjoyed mocking on a regular basis. It made for an odd friendship but Jackson was an excellent sparring partner. 

‘You’re just pissed you’re not Derek’s type so he never even acknowledges your existence.’ He retorted. 

‘I could care less about attracting the attention of a known psychopath.’ Jackson sniffed, nose in the air. ‘And for your information, I’m everyone’s type.’

‘Now, now.’ Danny grinned. He could match Allison in the dimples department, his tanned skin and ability to manipulate rock into liquid forms a hallmark of his island ancestry. ‘You know that he was found innocent of all charges.’

Ah yes, the elephant in the Academy that nobody ever talked about. The last time someone had mentioned the deaths of almost the entire Hale family, Derek had grabbed the offending student, a sneaky little bastard called Matt Daehler that Stiles didn’t trust an inch, by the front of his uniform and hoisted him right off his feet before he’d threatened to rip his throat out with his teeth. Matt had promptly wet himself and then been quietly transferred to the State Military version of Administration, where he was now wading through paperwork as punishment. Talia Hale had been well-loved. Her time as General of the Northern Quarter had seen great improvement in relationships between the citizens of Beacon Hills City and the Military that ran every aspect of public services. She had been renowned as being fair and just, a far cry from the power hungry echelons below her. She’d favoured negotiation over conflict and her resistance to slaughtering her foes was through to be the reason she had been assassinated, along with almost her entire family, including her husband and twin sons, her parents and sisters and brothers and their children. Their pack had been large and the impact of their deaths had been far reaching, especially when the one put on trial for their deaths had been twelve year old Derek Hale, seemingly the only survivor of the fire that had incinerated his family. Laura and Peter had both been at the Academy and Cora had managed somehow to escape and lived feral in the forests surrounding the Hale estate for a year before she’d been found. By then, Derek had been cleared of all charges and enrolled in the Academy where his family could keep an eye on him. 

That had been six years previously and the mystery as to who had killed the Hales was as enthralling as it had been right at the start. Stiles knew his father had a suspicion as to who it had been but he’d mentioned that he had no proof and so was unable to launch a proper investigation. So life had gone on, Gerard Argent had taken Talia’s place as General and the military action had stepped up. The soldiers fighting on the Northern Border were used as cannon fodder for his ambitions but whenever someone had objected, they ended up being transferred out to the furthest reaches of the empire or floating in the Beacon River. People knew not to go against the Argents, which made it all the more improbable that Allison had grown up to be as level headed as she was. 

Stiles threw one last look in the direction Derek had gone. He could understand how being treated like a murderer and ostracised by almost everyone else at the Academy could make you hard and suspicious and hostile, reluctant to connect with anyone outside of his immediate pack. 

He just wished his poor heart could take the hint.


	2. Trouble Afoot

The weekend came mercifully soon and Stiles bounded out of bed with an exuberance that he normally didn’t demonstrate during the week of confinement that he was subjected to. Thankfully as fifth years, they all had permission to take day leave on the weekend. It wasn’t as good as being in sixth year when the leave was extended until midnight curfew but it was better than nothing and Stiles grabbed it with both hands. He also did not have to go out in uniform like the sixth years did and he had a quick shower, luxuriating in being able to use as much hot water as he wanted because the communal showers were but empty at eight o’clock on a Saturday. He loped back to the room he shared with Scott and dressed in khakis, t-shirt and plaid overshirt before sitting down to tie his sneakers. A quick glance in the mirror told him he looked like any normal college student and he grinned. Scott muttered a goodbye as he flew out the door and galloped down to the mess hall, hoping to grab some coffee, a bowl of cereal and maybe a piece of fruit before he escaped and made the long tram ride to the city centre and the Watch HQ to see his dad. 

He found Lydia already there, sipping herbal tea and eating a bowl of chopped fruit with delicate stabs of her fork. She had her hair twisted in a knot on top of her head, her face was made up and she wore a dress in emerald green print that made her eyes sparkle and Stiles knew there was no getting away from her. She’d developed a romance with one of his father’s junior officers and as much as Stiles was loathe to admit, Parrish was very good for her. He wasn’t the least bit intimidated by Lydia’s brilliance and loved her ardently enough for everyone to realise that they were more than likely in for the long haul. Jordan was an elemental alchemist and able to sustain being lit on fire as he was immune to its effects. He wasn’t particularly good at manipulating it though, hence his posting in the Watch, but he was very capable of rescuing people from burning buildings and a boon to his father’s department. 

‘Good morning.’ She regarded him over the brim of her cup. ‘Do you have to dress like you have no idea how to press your clothing?’

‘Yes.’ Stiles went to inspect the buffet line. He made up a bowl of oatmeal, liberally dousing it in honey and cream, and then returned with an apple in each pocket, a banana clenched between his teeth and his precious coffee. He ate like a man possessed and glanced up to see Lydia pursing her lips in disapproval. For someone who purported to be his best friend, she was awfully judgy of him at all times so he made a face at her. 

‘Where do you want to go today?’ he asked and she shrugged and set her empty cup aside. 

‘Just to say hello and then Jordan’s taking me for lunch.’ she replied. ‘We’re going to visit my mother this afternoon.’

‘Ooh.’ Stiles grinned. ‘Meeting the family? It’s getting serious.’ 

‘A lady never kisses and tells.’ Lydia replied primly. ‘Are you spending the day with Noah?’

‘Yeah.’ Stiles drained his cup, the remains of his breakfast now scattered around him. ‘You ready to go?’

‘Sure.’ Lydia got up and he helped her into her coat and fell into step beside her. 

They made it to the side door they both preferred to use and then Lydia caught his arm, pulling him into a side alcove where they were out of sight. Stiles was about to ask why when he heard the sound of footsteps and the low murmur of voices. They both peered out and saw Peter Hale coming down the corridor. He was unmistakable and every bit as handsome as his nephew was, coupled with an intellect that rivalled Lydia’s and an ability to phase through matter that made him a formidable opponent. Seeing him going out of the Academy meant that something serious must be afoot because he never left unless pressed, preferring his laboratory and library to the outside world. 

There was someone next to him and when Stiles saw who it was, he sucked in a breath. If Peter was reluctant to leave the Academy that went double for Derek. He never used his passes and never left the Academy walls and so seeing him accompanying his uncle was like spotting a unicorn in the Botanical Gardens. Not to mention the fact that they both out of uniform, which was against regulations what with them both being qualified State Alchemists. Stiles had to admit though, Derek looked good in faded jeans. He was also sporting a black henley and a leather jacket that was too long in the arms for him, his inky dark hair styled in a distinctly no-military fashion. 

It was like being sucker punched and Stiles bit his lip to stop the whimper that came out. Lydia glared at him and yanked him back as the Hales stopped and looked in their direction. There was no mistaking the sound of someone drawing breath and Stiles winced, knowing their were both scenting the air. 

‘Stilinski and Martin are around here somewhere.’ Derek said, his voice deceptively soft and light and completely at odds with his appearance. 

‘Hmmm.’ Peter sounded nonplussed. ‘Come on, we need to get there by nine. Leave the children alone, Derek.’ 

There was a rumbling growl but Derek followed his uncle, the sound of the steps fading as they left the building through the side door. 

Lydia waited until the door was closed again before she stepped out of the alcove, a thoughtful look on her face. 

‘Now, where do you think they’re going?’ she asked and Stiles got a sinking feeling. 

‘No.’ he said. ‘Lydia, don’t even think about it.’

‘Like you’re not the slightest bit intrigued.’ Lydia grinned. ‘I mean, Derek and Peter going off by themselves and dressed as civilians doesn’t make you the slightest bit curious?’

Stiles huffed and let his head drop.

‘You’re not going to let this go until we find out what they’re up to, are you?’ he asked and she gave him a brilliant smile. 

‘No.’ she replied, grabbing his arm and dragging him outside just in time to see a sleek black car leaving the side courtyard. ‘See? That’s an official staff car. Now if Peter was reporting to HQ I could understand, but Derek’s not even a graduated officer yet. Why’s he tagging along and why are they dressed like that? This is something hot, I’d bet your ass and mine on that.’

‘You’re the worst.’ Stiles grumbled as she hauled him down the stairs. 

‘No I’m not.’ she replied easily. ‘I just like to be in the know and that’s why we’re going to go interrogate your father. If something’s happening, he’ll be the one to know about it.’ 

‘Ugh, I hate you.’ Stiles had to admit she was right though. If anyone knew what was happening in Beacon, it would be Noah. He hadn’t been Commander of the Watch for twenty years and survived the transition to Gerard without being astute. ‘In that case, we’ll need donuts.’

\- 

Derek looked out the window, his stomach churning. He hated this, the feeling of dread that was making him feel nauseated and the way Peter kept tapping his fingernails against the window sounding like thunder in his ears. 

‘It’s the same MO.’ The seat opposite them was occupied by a lean man with greying blond hair and ice blue eyes. His uniform was immaculate, the braiding and epaulettes marking him as a Lt General. ‘We are pretty sure it’s her.’

‘Interesting.’ Peter leaned back and crossed his legs at the knee. ‘You do realise that it’s going to be very difficult to bring her in, not to mention the political fallout should she be identified.’

‘I am very aware of that.’ Chris Argent replied, his face perfectly neutral. He was angry though, Derek could smell it as clear as day. Then again, admitting that your own sister was a serial killer and child rapist had to be hard on one’s sense of wellbeing. 

‘I’m guessing that’s why the need for secrecy.’ Peter smirked. ‘Not to mention the fact that your father would be more than happy to have us both out the way should this little venture go south.’ 

Derek couldn’t help himself. His eyes flashed blue and he growled deep in his chest, only relenting when Peter put a hand on his thigh and calmed him with a subsonic growl of his own. 

‘This wasn’t my idea, Peter.’ Chris replied, looking pained. ‘And yes, everything you say is true. You know how it is. But the truth is, you two are also the best trackers in the city and we need to find her as soon as possible. She took out two alchemists from the East side just last night, burned them alive and dumped their bodies in Central Park right by the East Gate. The guards at the Ministry saw it so we were able to cover it up and suppress any information getting out about it.’ He handed over a pair of brown folders and Peter took them, studying the faces of the men inside. 

‘Unger and Reddick.’ he mused. ‘Both low level grunts. What would she want with them?’

‘We think they may have had links to the incident.’ Chris’ eyes flashed to Derek. ‘The first victim was also connected. He was an inspector that falsified records as to the cause of the fire to make it look like Derek killed your family. Him finally confessing was one of the key testimonies in having the charges expunged.’

‘Garrison Myers? I see.’ Peter’s eyes also flashed blue for a moment and Derek felt the way the tension coiled and then released as Peter got control of his temper. His uncle was somewhat of a loose cannon with Laura so far away. He’d lost his mate in the fire and hadn’t been the same since. Derek thought that had been the saddest thing. Sasha Hale had been the only person to completely understand Peter and his death had caused a descent into madness that had seen Peter destroy a good half of the research facility that he’d been working in by simply blowing every molecule apart with devastating efficiency. It was yet another thing the Military had covered up, but Peter was now banned from field work. 

Except of course, in extenuating circumstances like this one. 

‘There will most certainly be others.’ Chris sighed. ‘She’s nothing if not thorough.’ 

‘She’s insane.’ Peter said and his voice held no trace of mockery. ‘You should have had her put down the last time. Instead, you and your father let her walk away.’

Derek closed his eyes, leaning his head against the window and trying to swallow down the sour taste in his mouth. 

‘We had no idea the extent of her actions.’ Chris replied and, to give him credit, he reeked of remorse and guilt and shame. ‘If I’d known what she’d done...Peter, you have to believe I would have. I have a daughter and to think that anyone would have touched her like that when she was twelve...I would have ripped them to pieces.’ 

There was no blip in his heartbeat and Derek believed him. It didn’t stop him from shrinking back into the seat though, fighting his own pain and guilt and wanting to open the door and throw himself out the moving car and escape. 

‘Good.’ Peter replied, his voice steely. ‘Then you’ll have no complaints when Derek does.’ 

-

The tram made its way through town and Stiles pondered the situation. Lydia was right, there was definitely something fishy going on. 

They got off at the Watch stop, stopping to buy a dozen chocolate cream filled donuts before heading to the HQ. It was blocky squat building of red brick, the shiny six pointed star hanging outside showing its use. Stiles tripped inside and nearly faceplanted into the front desk. Grace was not one of his attributes. Lance Corporal Tara Graeme grinned at him when he righted himself, her dark eyes twinkling with humour at his expense. 

‘Good morning.’ she said. ‘I’m assuming you’re here to see the Sheriff and not attempting to redecorate my desk with your face?’

‘Oh, ha ha.’ Stiles muttered. ‘Make fun of the clumsy kid.’

‘I already do.’ Tara laughed. ‘Hi Lydia. Jordan’s in the break room.’

‘Excellent.’ Lydia replied and strode past the desk and towards the back while Tara gave Stiles a once over. 

‘I think you’ve grown again.’ she remarked and he preened. 

‘Getting taller all the time.’ he said. ‘Is he in his office?’

‘Yeah.’ Tara made grabby hands at the box of pastries. ‘The toll will be one donut, please.’

‘Here.’ Stiles handed her one, licking frosting from his fingers. ‘Hey, you haven’t heard of anything weird going on this morning have you?’ He got his answer immediately from the shifty look on Tara’s face. ‘Never mind, I’ll just ask him what it is.’ 

‘Stiles!’ she admonished as he escaped past her. ‘Stay out of it!’

Stiles ignored her, tearing down the corridor to the stairs at the back of the station and his father’s office. Noah Stilinski was afforded the rank of Sargeant-Major but tradition meant he was still addressed as Sheriff by his staff, even though the rank had been defunct for centuries. He found him on the phone, his chair tilted back and his face strained. He caught Stiles’ eye as he came in and made a face and Stiles grinned, knowing without asking that he was talking to someone from Whittemore’s office. He sat and listened to his father make the appropriate noises, sliding the donuts across the desk like a sacrificial offering. Let it never be said that a Stilinski wasn’t a master of bribery. 

Noah finally hung up and eyeballed him. 

‘What do you know?’ he asked, helping himself to a donut. 

‘Just that Peter and Derek Halke left the Academy in civilian clothing this morning.’ Stiles replied. ‘They got into a staff car and took off like their asses were on fire.’ 

‘Dammit.’ Noah’s voice came out muffled by donut. ‘This is high ranking stuff, kid. I can’t let you stick your nose into this one. I could get actually fired if I did.’ 

‘Wow.’ Stiles sat back. ‘It’s that serious?’

‘Extremely.’ Noah replied, then narrowed his eyes at him. ‘I also want you to be extra vigilant and no sneaking out the Academy after dark. I’m serious, Stiles. This is a very dangerous situation.’ 

‘Now, see.’ Stiles waved his hands in exasperation. ‘You can’t say things like that and not expect me to want to know what’s going on.’ 

Noah rested his chin in his hand and gave Stiles his most infuriating grin. He knew it well because it was the one he used on Lydia. 

‘I wonder just how much what I know is worth?’ His grey eyes were twinkling madly and Stiles heaved a sigh. 

‘You manipulative old man.’ he fumed. ‘This is the last thing you should be having. You know what Melissa said about your cholesterol. I’ve already gone against my better judgement and brought you donuts.’

‘Which are much appreciated.’ Noah replied, helping himself to another one. ‘But if you want the lowdown, it’s a steak at Mauricio’s or nothing.’

‘This is blackmail.’ Stiles glared at him. 

‘I agree.’ Noah licked the frosting off his fingers with relish. ‘But seeing how my son makes more than I do as a State Alchemist in training, I figure he can afford it.’ 

‘I wonder how much the Fuhrer would pay to know one of his City Watch commanders is involved in criminal activity.’ Stiles muttered and Noah burst out laughing. 

‘Not as much as you’re going to for a 24 oz. rib eye with all the trimmings.’ he replied and got up. ‘But to sweeten the deal, I’ll let you tag along on my visit to HQ.’ 

‘What?’ Stiles was on his feet in an instant. ‘And you’ll tell me what you know afterwards?’

‘Maybe.’ Noah replied. ‘But I’m under no illusions as to what you and Lydia came here for so go downstairs and get her as well. Jordan’s coming with so he’ll be pleased just to be in her presence.’

‘On it.’ Stiles said and bolted out the door, nearly taking himself out as he flew down the stairs. He found Lydia and Parrish locked at the lips in the break room, coughing loudly to get their attention. They broke apart and he gave them both a look. 

‘Seriously?’ he asked. ‘That’s your interrogation technique?’

‘It works.’ Lydia retorted. Next to her, Parrish was straightening his uniform. Like the rest of the Military, they were also in black but with gold braiding looped about their shoulders to indicate they were City Watch. 

Noah came past, shrugging into his greatcoat. 

‘Come on.’ he said. ‘Time’s a wasting.’ 

‘I should have worn my uniform.’ Stiles said, following him out the back door and to the vehicles parked out back, grinning when he saw the driver jump to attention. 

‘Guess you’ll have to just stay in the car.’ Noah chuckled and dodged the swipe Stiles aimed at him.


	3. Chapter 3

Central Park was a thousand acres of lush vegetation and a million places to hide set at the very heart of Beacon Hills. The city’s streets radiated out from it like the rays of the sun until they hit the Outer Wall, beyond which lay the farmlands that fed the city. The old Hale House had stood overlooking its northern corner and Derek had many childhood memories of running through it on full moon nights, along with the other packs in the city. After the fire, Satomi and Deucalion had packed up their families and moved them out of the city, declaring that it was unsafe for wolves to be surrounded by people that had thought so little of the fact that a prominent pack had been wiped out the way it had. The site of the house was left to become overgrown but judging from the scent, it had recently had a visitor. 

‘She was here.’ He stood up from his crouch and watched as Peter looked around him. It was a good place to hide, with people avoiding the ten acre grounds like the plague and with tunnels underneath that their killer could safely hide in. After all, Derek had told her everything there was to know about the house’s hiding places. 

Chris had dropped them off at the East side of the park and they’d walked through the landscaped grounds, sniffing the air and trying to pick up a trail. He was right, werewolves were superlative trackers, although now they were in short supply after the departure of the other packs. Cora was still only thirteen and she wouldn’t be used by the Military until she turned sixteen at least and Peter signed off on it as her guardian while Laura was away. She was only a year older than Derek had been before the fire and he still regarded her very much as a child. It made the truth of what Kate Argent had done to him hit home in a way it never had before and Derek felt sick to his stomach knowing she was back in the City. 

The Military hadn’t taken kindly to what Kate had done. She’s never shown the talent for alchemy that her brother had and she’d joined the ranks of regular soldiers, using her father’s name to secure a decent commission and a place in Espionage. Her talent lay in seduction and she’d been instrumental in securing information from their enemies, but it hadn’t been enough. Derek knew that know, knew that the only reason she’d seduced him and pretended to love him was to find a way to kill his family. Later they’d discovered that she’d planned it all along, had been accessing all kinds of banned materials on the forbidden rite of making a Philosopher’s Stone so that she might boost her weak alchemic powers and become as powerful as her brother and father. Humans made good sacrifices, but werewolves made better ones and Derek had all but handed his family over on a plate to her. He hadn’t known what he was doing, hadn’t realised that he was being used until she had him on his knees in front of his family home and lighting the fire that killed his pack. 

He hadn’t used his elemental alchemy since that day and all records of it had been sealed and never revealed, even upon his entrance to the academy. Kate had had the foresight to realise he’d never willingly do it, which was why he’d woken from their last tryst together with the taste of wolfsbane in his mouth, his hands tied with wolfsbane rope behind his back and a flame alchemy transmutation circle tattooed between his shoulder blades right where she could place her hand and use what little magic she had to compel it into being. He’d looked around to find himself in the centre of a huge transmutation circle drawn on the floor of the house’s enormous cellar, his family bound and gagged at the five points. Kate had started the transmutation and his own alchemy had done the rest, burning the house right to the ground around them and producing a Stone that had been powerful enough for Kate to negotiate her escape in exchange for not laying the city to waste. 

Now she was back and it was taking everything in him not to shift and tear into something. 

‘Derek.’ Peter’s voice broke through his thoughts. His uncle was looking at him with pity and for a split second, Derek hated him. He didn’t deserve pity or comfort, not after what he’d done. 

‘We have her scent now.’ he said, walking back the way they’d come. ‘I can find her.’   
-

HQ was set on the Eastern side of Central Park, surrounded by formal gardens and composed of three square buildings in white stone that gleamed. Noah stopped the car at the front of magnificent gates with and grinned at Stiles' obvious annoyance that both he and Lydia were not dressed appropriately. 

'Take notes.' Stiles ordered imperiously. 'Copious ones that I can actually read.'

'Sure thing, Sparky.' Parrish said, making Noah chuckle. Stiles bristled at him. He hated the nickname with a passion but he'd earned it by blacking out the entire Western Sector of the city after throwing a tantrum when he was twelve. It had been what had bought his acceptance to the Academy and Noah had never let him live it down. Stiles knew he was special. There wasn't another alchemist that could do what he did in the entire city but it also grated that with it came a power that frequently had a mind of its own. 

In retaliation he grinned slyly and sent enough current through the body of the car to zap Parrish when he opened the back door, snickering when he got a pointed look from Lydia. 

'What? He glared right back at her. 

Lydia just huffed and got out the car. Stiles followed, grinning broadly when Parrish took a precautionary step back from holding the door before practically diving back inside. 

'Ye God's.' Noah muttered through the open window. 'Children, the lot of you.'

'Think of it as making our own entertainment.' Stiles said. 'Seeing as how we can't come in.'

'Well don't go far and stay out of trouble.' Noah replied and directed the car to the security barrier at the front gate, Parrish sticking his tongue out at Stiles through his window. 

'What do you even see in him?' he asked and Lydia laughed and took his arm. 

'More than you think.' she replied. 'Come on, let's go for a walk in the park.'

-

Derek broke through the vegetation at the back of the estate, peering through the old rusted fence that separated what was once his home from the city park. This was also where the tunnels beneath the house came out, an escape route that Kate had blocked off with mountain ash the night of the fire and so trapping her victims like rats in a barn. It was thick with her scent now, but he didn’t have the stomach to go inside so Peter did. 

‘I’ll be quick.’ he growled, disappearing into the gloom and leaving Derek to stand concealed by the trees and watch the park. It was almost midday and people were starting to throng, enjoying the sunshine and fine weather of spring before the city turned unbearable. 

He waited, eavesdropping on people as they walked close enough for him to hear. He had one hand in his pocket, idly fingering the silver pocket watch that had been given to him upon his qualification two weeks previously. It was new, the engraving inside a dedication from Peter, Laura and Cora. He wished he could have had his mother’s, but it had been melted down by the force of the fire. Derek’s power was terrifying in its intensity and having it unleashed the way he had when he was only twelve and in such a terrible manner had made it dangerously unstable. Every wolf found alchemy difficult to do without an anchor. Peter’s was his single minded determination to be the best. Laura’s was her duty to her pack and her country and Cora found strength through her independence and will to survive. 

Derek’s was his anger, but the few times they’d tried to get him to use his true elemental alchemy it had always failed to curb it. Instead, the fire that came from his hands burned hotter for it and Derek still hadn’t figured out a way to stop it from happening. For his own safety, he’d been forbidden by the Ministry from using it and learned instead to channel his power into general transmutations. Peter had been deeply unhappy at the decision. He was so in synch with his power that the very thought of having to give up such a fundamental part of himself was abhorrent. Derek, on the other hand, wished fervently that he could just give it all back. 

He had no idea just how long Peter had been gone when his ears picked up the sound of familiar voices and he focused on the couple walking along the outer loop of the park. He tuned in closer and heard the irregular thump of a heartbeat that had become far to distracting of late and once he found it, it was only a matter of moments to catch the scent the gentle breeze brought him. It was an unmistakable mixture of teenage hormones, cheap deodorant, apple and that clean ozone note that made Derek think of electricity dancing over his tongue when he breathed in a thunderstorm. Stiles smelled like no-one else he’d ever scented and it made him dizzy with want. 

He’d never told a soul about his ridiculous crush on the gangling fifth year. Derek was horribly smitten, a fact he hid behind a scowl and a surly manner whenever he encountered him. He knew that he was the last person anyone would want to be with, too damaged and too suspicious of everyone and everything to be any good as anything other than a soldier. His friends were few and he trusted them implicitly, but they knew what he’d been through and accepted him for who he was. Nobody knew about how damaged they were too - Isaac by the abuse he’d suffered at the hands of his father, Erica ravaged by the illness that had nearly killed her multiple times before Laura had given her the bite and Boyd, lost and alone when his family had been killed by marauders in the north and Laura had brought him and his little sister home with her after her first campaign. She’d seen the potential in all of them, just like she still saw it in Derek even if he had long lost any faith in himself. 

Then Stiles Stilinski had bounced into the Academy and Derek’s breath had caught in a way he’d never expected it to. He’d been hard pressed not to follow Stiles around like a lovesick puppy, but the first time he’d tried to talk to him he’d startled Stiles so badly that the first year had unleashed an electric shock that had nearly knocked Derek into the next week. Electricity was anathema for werewolves and he’d ended up in the infirmary with slow healing burns and feeling sick at the look of fear in Stiles’ eyes whenever they ran into each other afterwards. After that, Derek had decided it was best if he stayed away. It didn’t matter that Stiles was smart enough to best Lydia if he tried hard enough, that he had powerful alchemy that held Derek in awe or that he was funny enough to make Derek snicker as he stalked him through the stacks in the library, listening to Stiles rant about whatever had annoyed him that day. His descriptions of Harris were things of beauty. 

If only...

He moved a little closer, tilting his face into the breeze and closing his eyes as he inhaled more of that wonderful scent. This was the closest he’d ever get and he basked in it for as long as he could. Then he heard what they were actually saying and his eyes snapped open in shock. 

-

‘Maybe they’re going on a secret mission.’ Stiles suggested and Lydia dismissed the idea with a flick of her hand. 

‘I doubt that.’ she said. ‘No, it’s something that’s happened recently. Have there been any odd crimes of late?’

‘There was a murder last week.’ Stiles mused. ‘Some low ranking alchemist called Garrison Myers. Dad said that he’d been pretty much ripped to pieces.’

‘Lovely.’ Lydia’s voice was flat. She moved her parasol from one shoulder to the other, twirling it as she walked. It was a beautiful waxed silk one painted with peonies, and she used it to devastating effect to hide her face coyly whenever she went out walking with Parrish. 

‘That was only one murder though.’ Stiles kicked at a small pebble, making it bounce along the pathway. 

‘Or maybe not.’ Lydia replied. ‘Maybe that’s why your father got called to the Ministry.’ 

‘Huh.’ Stiles stopped. ‘That might actually be true. He did say that it was high ranking stuff that was extremely serious and he refused to give me any actual details. But why would one alchemist warrant the attention of the Ministry?’

‘Myers.’ Lydia frowned. ‘Hang on.’ 

She headed for the call box that was right in front of them and Stiles followed her. He watched as she dialled a number, her polished nails tapping away at the receiver. 

‘Hi.’ she said. ‘I need to ask a favour.’ 

‘Who is that?’ Stiles hissed but Lydia just held up her finger at him and he fell silent. 

‘I need to know of the name Garrison Myers rings a bell.’ She listened and then inhaled sharply. ‘Thank you. I owe you one.’ 

‘Who the hell was that?’ Stiles asked the second she hung up and Lydia gave him an evil smile. 

‘I know exactly where I want to be in ten years, Stiles.’ she replied. ‘And getting to be the youngest head of the Experimental Transmutation Research Facility means I’ve been carefully cultivating relationships since I enrolled at the Academy. That was one of my contacts.’ 

‘You have contacts? Who are they? Are they high up? What do they do? Tell meeeeeeee!’ Stiles was practically dancing around her in excitement and Lydia snorted and shoved him away from her, face first. 

‘Yes. None of your business. Yes, very. That’s classified and no.’ Her grin was sly. ‘I think that answered all your questions. ‘Now do you want to know who Garrison Meyers was or not?’ 

‘Yes.’ Stiles clasped his hands together and gave her his best pleading face. ‘Please.’

‘He’s the man that investigated the Hale fire.’ Lydia replied. 

\- 

Derek’s mouth dropped open. He was hiding behind a tree, not to far from the phone box Lydia had used. They’d gone a little too far and he’d been curious as to how much they knew and so he’d hopped the fence and followed them, wincing at how ridiculous it was that he was stalking them through the bushes. 

Whoever Lydia’s contact was, they had to be in a unique position to know about Myers and his role in the fire. After Derek’s trial, all the documents had been sealed and struck from any record that was accessible to the lower levels of the Ministry. That meant it was either someone who had the clearance to know or someone who worked in the Records office. He growled at the thought of Stiles ever finding out what a monster he was and then had to frantically duck back behind the tree when Lydia looked in his direction. 

-

‘Did you hear that?’ Lydia narrowed her eyes at a tree not to far from them and Stiles huffed. 

‘Hear what?’ he asked. ‘So wait, why is the Hale fire coming up in this?’

‘Oh come on.’ Lydia rolled her eyes at him. ‘The still unsolved deaths of the State Ministry’s General in Beacon Hills and almost her entire family? You don’t think that connection is significant? Especially if the Ministry’s former chief suspect has been called in?’

‘Not unless he was killed because of it.’ Stiles replied. ‘There was nothing to suggest a connection.’ 

‘Maybe not by himself.’ Lydia replied. ‘But if there were others…’ She let the sentence hang and Stiles gaped at her. 

‘Are you suggesting a conspiracy?’ he asked and she nodded and then leaned past him to glare at the tree again. Even Stiles heard it growl this time. 

‘For a werewolf, you’re not very stealthy.’ Lydia declared. ‘Come out, you’re just making yourself look like an idiot.’ 

There was a shuffle of vegetation and then, to Stiles’ utter amazement, Derek slunk out from behind the tree with his hands shoved in his pockets. His eyebrows were murderous and he looked like he wanted to bite somebody and Stiles found himself taking a step back, even as his heart started to pound in happy excitement. 

‘Derek.’ His voice squeaked unattractively at the end. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Taking a walk.’ Derek mumbled, looking anywhere but at Stiles. ‘It’s a nice day.’

‘Oh cut the crap.’ Lydia said cheerfully. ‘We know you and Peter are up to something. We saw you leave this morning.’

Derek’s green eyes flickered blue around the edges and the murder brows intensified. 

‘No, we’re not.’ He looked like he wanted to fall through the ground and Stiles felt his stomach do a happy little lurch. An embarrassed Derek was beyond adorable. 

Lydia opened her mouth to rebut his words but she was interrupted by the arrival of the one person they all quaked before, even Lydia. 

‘Ah, here you are nephew.’ Peter was smiling but the way his hand came down on Derek’s shoulder was anything but happy. ‘I was surprised to see you’d wandered off.’ 

‘I…’ Derek started and then dropped his head. ‘Sorry, Uncle Peter.’

‘And you.’ Peter turned his piercing blue eyes on Lydia. ‘We’re on official Ministry business, Cadet Martin. That means you don’t get to know what we’re doing without clearance and last I checked, you are still a Fifth year student.’

‘Maybe so.’ Lydia replied, lifting her chin in defiance. ‘But I’d like to point out, Captain Hale, that you’re not exactly dressed like you’re on official business.’

They glared at each other, neither giving ground, and then just like that Peter’s face became carefully neutral. 

‘In that case, it’s like Derek said. We’re just taking a walk.’ He gripped Derek’s shoulder hard enough that Stiles knew they would have been bruises if Derek was human. ‘And now we need to go.’ He nodded at them both. ‘Enjoy the sunshine. It’s good to be out and about at your age.’ 

Derek looked positively miserable as he was steered away and Stiles wanted to kick Peter in the shin for making him look like that. Lydia, on the other hand, was watching them leave with a look on her face that meant nothing but trouble. 

‘Curiouser and curiouser.’ she murmured. ‘I think we need to get back to the Academy. We need reinforcements for this.’

-

Peter waited until they were safely out of earshot before he spoke, his hand still in a death grip on Derek’s shoulder. 

‘Where the hell were you?’ he hissed. ‘I got out and you’d disappeared! Thankfully, I caught your scent and was able to follow you.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Derek muttered, feeling awful. Peter was overprotective and his instincts a little out of kilter after the fire. He should have thought about that before running off, especially with Kate on the loose in the city. 

Peter sighed heavily and let him go. 

‘I know.’ he said. ‘But we have to be on alert. Kate’s clearly taking out all her little helpers. You and I both know that she wouldn’t have been able to take down the pack with just her. And if she’s invested in tying up loose ends then…’

‘She’s going to come after me.’ Derek felt his stomach twist. ‘You think I don’t already know that? That it hasn’t given me nightmares since the fire?’

‘You can’t let something like your interest in the Stilinski boy distract you.’ Peter growled and Derek gave him the side-eye. 

‘How the hell do you…?’ He huffed but Peter grinned at him. 

‘I have a nose, eyes and ears Derek. If you didn’t smell like interest every time you even so much as glimpsed the boy, I’d be less inclined to think you weren’t so taken with him.’ 

They reached the East Gate of the park and headed for the HQ. Once they crossed the road and into the main gate set in the massive surrounding wall of the Ministry, Derek felt brave enough to ask. 

‘Did you find anything?’ He steeled himself. ‘Down there?’

‘Her scent was all over everything.’ Peter snarled, his fangs just visible. ‘She’s been in and out and I’d say that the last time she tortured a couple of people. There was blood, lots of it. I think that’s where she had Under and Reddick. It makes sense if she dumped them at the East Gate.’

‘She burned them.’ Derek dug his claws into his palms, fighting for control. ‘You know that’s aimed at me.’

‘I know.’ Peter stopped as they reached the main wing of the MInistry. ‘And she’s going to make this personal. You have to stick with me at all times. I’m also going to put an extra watch on Cora. There’s not telling what Kate is going to do.’

They went inside and reported to the front desk. The duty sargeant made a call and five minutes later, Chris was coming down the stairs. To Derek’s astonishment, Sheriff Stilinski and another young man that he didn’t recognise were with him. 

‘I needed some extra help with this.’ Chris said by way of explanation. ‘Follow me. We’re going to the Archives.’

-

The cafe they chose was on the edge of the Ministry. Stiles slurped moodily at his coffee, his eyes fixed on the massive buildings inside the fence. He’d been inside only a couple of times when Noah had let him tag along on visits and it still seemed odd to think that one day he’d be gainfully employed there. 

‘You’d be better in the field.’ Lydia said, as if she was reading his mind. There were days when Stiles thought she actually could, even though banshees weren’t supposed to be psychic. Apart from the predicting death thing of course. It had been a bit of a blow when her socialite parents discovered that she’d inherited her paternal grandmother’s supernatural gifts and her choice to enrol in the Academy had meant being pretty much disowned by them, although her mother had finally started to come around. 

‘That’s just because I can’t break as much outside.’ Stiles grumbled. ‘Why are they taking so long?’

‘Maybe they have lots to talk about.’ Lydia replied and then looked down the street and waved. They had called Allison before they’d gone to the cafe and she was now coming towards them with the others in tow. There was some adjusting tables and chairs and then a round of orders before they were all seated and looking at Stiles and Lydia expectantly. 

‘So what’s all this about a murder?’ Danny’s dark eyes were sparkling with curiosity. 

‘Yeah.’ Jackson made a face. ‘I hope you’re not going to get us in shit again, Stiles.’

‘Shut up.’ Scott threw a sugar sachet at him and Jackson caught it neatly, ripped it open and tipped the contents into his coffee. 

‘Your dad’s probably involved.’ Lydia was looking at Allison. ‘Nothing much happens at the Ministry without him knowing.’

‘Why call in the Sheriff though?’ Jackson asked. 

‘Because this is his city.’ Allison replied. ‘My dad may run the Ministry but the Sheriff is the one that gets things done on the ground and he’d be able to find out stuff that the Ministry couldn’t.’   
Stiles felt proud to hear her talk like that about his father. Many looked down on the non-commissioned ranks but he was proud of what Noah did and he preened a little when the others all agreed with her. Except for Jackson, but he was a lost cause anyway. 

‘So here’s the deal.’ Lydia leaned in and they all followed suit. ‘Stiles is going to talk to his dad when he comes out of the Ministry. The rest of us are going to do some digging. Danny, your mom works at the Public Library so you and Jackson start on newspapers.’ 

‘Got it.’ Danny leaned back and patted Jackson on the head when he scowled. 

‘Allison, you and Scott can take the HQ.’ Lydia said and Stiles realised that was why they were in their uniforms. ‘You can get right to your dad’s office without anybody wondering why you’re there.’ 

‘What about you?’ Allison asked and Lydia grinned. 

‘I’m going to go put some things together that we might need.’ she replied and Stiles bounced in his seat. Lydia’s crazy inventions were the best. 

-

‘So.’ Noah’s grey eyes were sharp as he regarded them all and Derek shrunk in a little on himself. He’d seen the same quick wits at work when Stiles was learning something new, the way his focus was relentless when he was fascinated. Having it turned on him by a man in Noah’s position made him feel like an insect under a magnifying glass. 

‘So.’ Peter replied. His amusement was clear, even to someone who couldn’t smell it. It was a quirk of his, finding something funny in even the worst circumstances. Nobody else had ever appreciated it, apart from his mate. Now Sasha was gone and Peter’s grim humour often chased the edge of cruelty. 

‘I realise this is unorthodox.’ Chris was at the long table that held a pile of documents and books that almost covered its surface. ‘But I needed somewhere we could talk privately.’ The Archives were unique in Beacon because they were built to contain all the potential magic held in the collection of knowledge that the State had accumulated for centuries related to alchemy. As a result, they were completely impervious to any kind of device designed to listen in on conversations held inside. The Military had banned anyone from entering without a permit for research, but then Chris Argent probably didn’t need to ask for permission. 

Derek felt his lip curl and quickly stamped all over his anger. He caught Peter’s knowing eye and manfully ignored it. 

‘So talk.’ Noah folded his arms, looking particularly unimpressed. The Watch may have been outranked by the Military but Noah Stilinski let nobody intimidate him. Next to him, Jordan Parrish was standing in solidarity and Derek gave him a subtle once over. He knew that he was seeing Lydia Martin and was intrigued at what she saw in him. Lydia was his uncle’s prize pupil, their mutual interest in the darker, murkier side of alchemy leading to him giving her extra credit assignments and lending her books he wouldn’t even let Derek touch, let alone read. 

‘I know this is a delicate situation, Chris.’ Peter drawled. ‘But really, the dramatic tension is getting ridiculous. Just tell him.’ 

Chris’ ice blue eyes narrowed at him and Derek hid a smile. Peter may have been brilliant and Cora may have been a fighter that would soon outstrip everyone at the Academy, but nobody had a nose like Derek did. Chris’ cologne was very distinctive and it clung, especially to the fine sheets on Peter’s bed. For all their public animosity, he knew that their private relationship was very different. 

‘I was trying to…’ he started but Peter huffed and took over. 

‘Six years ago, my nephew got himself into trouble by trusting the wrong person.’ he said. ‘He ended up being used to murder our entire pack.’

Noah frowned. 

‘The fire.’ he said. ‘But that case is unsolved.’

‘Not exactly.’ Peter replied, his fangs just visible as he sneered. ‘We knew exactly who it was but the perpetrator had, shall we say, friends in high places.’ 

Derek wanted to crawl under the table and never come out at the look of horrified outrage on Noah’s face. 

‘You knew who it was?’ Oh, he sounds severely pissed off. ‘And you let them go?’

‘We had to.’ Chris sighed, looking far older than he was. Derek wondered just how heavy the burden he carried was, being her brother. He vaguely remembered her ravings about how she’d show him and her father that she was every bit as worthy. 

‘No.’ Noah’s voice was like ice. ‘There can’t be any justification for letting someone who burned an entire family alive go. There were children in that house.’

‘You don’t understand.’ Chris said. ‘The person responsible didn’t just murder the Hales. She used them.’ 

‘As what?’ Parrish looked every bit as sickened. 

‘As sacrifices.’ Derek found himself saying the words almost without thinking. ‘She used them to make a Philosopher’s Stone.’ 

‘What?’ Noah looked appalled. ‘Is that even possible?’

‘It is.’ Chris sat down, slumping in the chair next to him. ‘It is forbidden magic and for good reason. The person we’re talking about was never the most stable. She felt denigrated because her alchemy wasn’t good enough to get her into the State Alchemists and she wanted a Stone so that she could be stronger. Werewolves make excellent sacrifices because of their heightened strength and resistance and the Stone she produced by killing them was powerful enough for her to be able to demand safe passage or she would have wreaked destruction on the city.’ 

‘And this person.’ Noah spat. ‘Does she have a name?’

Chris and Peter exchanged glances. Derek waited, flinching when Chris spoke. 

‘She’s my sister.’ he replied. ‘Kate Argent.’

-

Allison strode confidently down the corridor and Scott trotted in her wake, looking around him in bemusement at how everyone simply let her. He knew if he’d tried that, it would have never have worked. She stopped just short of a doorway and held up a hand. He nearly ran right into her, peering around her and into the office. There as a wild-haired man man at the desk in the centre of the room. 

‘That’s Finstock.’ Allison hissed. ‘He’s my dad’s aide-de-camp. We need to distract him.’ 

‘How?’ Scott hissed back. He eyeballed the man, taking in the sloppy uniform and manic grin. Finstock had to be seriously good at his job to get away with looking like that. 

‘I’ll go in and talk to him.’ Allison whispered. ‘You sneak past and get into my dad’s office. He has a tray on his desk with all the pending documents in it. If there’s something going on, it will be in there.’ 

‘Dammit.’ Scott made a face. ‘Why am I the one who has to sneak?’

‘Just do it.’ Allison glared at him and then straightened up and walked into the front office like she didn’t have a care in the world, leaving him to lament the fact that he was going to have to be stealthy.   
-

‘Hang on.’ Noah was staring at Chris in disbelief. ‘You’re telling me that Kate set the fire? To become a better alchemist?’

‘Yeah.’ Peter was bitter. ‘When you put it like that, it really throws things into perspective.’ 

‘She did.’ It sounded like the confession was killing Chris and that made Derek feel a little bit better. ‘And it worked. She became powerful beyond any alchemist’s ability and left Derek behind to take the fall for her crimes. I had no idea that she’d even been involved until the trial and Garrison Myers finally confessed his role in her acts. It was what saved Derek.’ 

Derek felt Noah’s eyes on him, but he kept staring at the ground. It hurt so much to remember.

‘He was only a child.’ Peter spat. ‘Kate manipulated him and abused him. She used his alchemy to immolate his own pack.’

‘When we discovered what had happened, I immediately set out to track her down.’ Chris explained. ‘By then, she was too strong. She threatened to destroy the city and so my father let her leave Beacon unharmed.’ Derek could smell his shame, curdled like old milk. ‘And I let her go. Her name was struck from all official transcripts of the trial and we made it look like she’d been transferred to an active regiment. Nobody knows she even had a hand in the Hales’ deaths, apart from the General, the three of us in this room and now you.’ 

‘Not even Cora knows.’ Peter added. ‘Derek’s alchemy was corrupted and now he’s forbidden from using it, my mate is dead and this city lost it’s finest leader.’ His eyes flashed once, a brilliant electric blue and Derek was reminded that it was an indication that he’d been touched by death. It was the same shade he saw in his own eyes, but where Peter had earned it in the service of his country, Derek had done it through aiding a murderer. 

Noah took a deep breath. 

‘So, the death of Garrison Myers was anything but random.’ he said. ‘And I’m assuming that you have something more to tell me.’

‘Kate is here.’ Chris told him. ‘She was the one who killed Myers and she killed another two Alchemists last night. They were low ranked, working on fuel extraction. We had no idea that they were involved in the fire, but it’s clear from the fact that she took them out, that they were.’

‘Wouldn’t Derek be able to confirm that?’ Noah asked and Derek had to bite back a whine. 

‘I don’t remember anything about them.’ he muttered. ‘If they were there, they were gone before I woke up. Myers too. I don’t remember seeing them or anyone else.’   
‘There was a lot that happened that was never officially recorded.’ Peter’s snarled and Derek recalled how his fury at what Derek had confessed to him about what Kate had done. It was bad enough that she’d had seduced a twelve year old into giving up his virginity but the fact that she’d done it by pretending to be his mate had reached a level of vileness that had had even hardened military judges looking ill by the end of Derek’s testimony, uttered at a whisper for the most part. He’d only been brave enough to do so in closed chambers, and even then they hadn’t believed him. It was only Myers’ corroborating testimony that had convinced them. 

Chris flinched. He knew all of the gory details. 

‘It was considered to be in the public interest to cover everything up.’ he said. Myers was never sanctioned for his part. These two never came forward. There’s no telling how deep this may run but if more bodies turn up, we’ll have our answer.’ 

‘So why involve me?’ Noah was livid, Derek could smell that much. ‘You certainly saw fit to exclude the Watch as much as possible from the investigation before. What’s changed?’ 

‘We need your help.’ Chris said. ‘We need to stop Kate from killing her way through the city and we need to keep panic to a minimum. If she starts taking out people indiscriminantly, that will be a serious problem. She dumped the bodies in the Central Park, Sheriff. It’s only a matter of time and I’d rather have you on my side in this. I wanted to before, but my father was the one that made that call.’ 

‘And now?’ Noah asked and Chris looked at him, his gaze steady. 

‘He doesn’t know about this.’ he replied. ‘His official order is to cover it all up again, but I let myself be swayed once and I have no intention of doing it again. Kate needs to be brought to justice.’

There was no blip in his heartbeat and Derek looked at Peter in astonishment,but his uncle had his poker face on. His scent, on the other hand, was a mix of smugness and pleased surprise. Clearly, this was news to him too. 

‘All right, then.’ Noah looked between them. ‘What do you need me to do?’

\- 

Sneaking into Chris’ office was terrifying. Scott was convinced that he was going to die until Allison got Finstock onto the subject of competitive team sports and he started raving like a madman to the point that he didn’t even notice him. 

He didn’t dally, sprinting across the office to the tray on the ornate desk and grabbing the folders that were there and making his escape. Allison was still perched right in Finstock’s eyeline and he managed to slink back out again and hurtle down the passage to the staircase she’d designated their meeting point, secreting the folders under his jacket. She found him moments later, still giggling. 

‘He’s a very interesting man.’ she said when Scott frowned at her, taking the folders from him. ‘Now let’s go see what’s going on, shall we?’

-

Stiles was loitering at the main gate when his father came out with Parrish. They both looked suitably grim and he was filled with a burning curiosity to know why. He opened his mouth to ask and Noah immediately shushed him. 

‘Nope.’ He looked as stern as Stiles had ever seen him. ‘Forget it. I’ll eat tofu until the end of time but you are absolutely not getting involved in this. No way, no how and that’s the end of it so don’t even try.’ 

‘But…’ Stiles was flabbergasted at his father’s about turn, but he also knew enough that if Noah looked this unsettled, it was seriously bad. He deflated. ‘Okay, I’ll stay out of it.’ 

Noah stopped walking and then took Stiles by the shoulders. 

‘Kiddo, I’m serious.’ he said. ‘This is dangerous. Far too dangerous for anyone but the State Military to handle, with a little bit of help from us. I need you to promise me, you won’t get into it. Not even a little bit. And what I said earlier about not leaving the Academy goes double now. It’s going to make things very sticky if you find yourself in a situation that means...’ He trailed off and Stiles gasped as pain flashed through his chest. He rubbed at it, a gesture that he’d pretty much trained himself out of doing because he didn’t want to answer questions, but Noah’s eyes were sad when they looked at him. 

Stiles knew the value of secrets. So did his father. He nodded, feeling bad for what he was about to do, but something told him that this was something he wouldn’t be able to let go. 

‘I promise.’ he lied. ‘I won’t touch it with a barge pole.’

Noah narrowed his eyes at him. 

‘Mieczysław Janusz Stilinski.’ He was using his Sheriff voice and Stiles wilted under his unrelenting gaze. 

Fine.’ he huffed and looked away. ‘I promise, I won’t do anything stupid or stick my nose in where it doesn’t belong.’ 

‘Thank you.’ Noah hauled him in by one arm and kissed the top of his head as the Watch car pulled up. ‘I appreciate it. You’re all I’ve got left and I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you too.’

‘Ugh.’ Stiles swatted at him, seeing how Parrish was grinning out the corner of his eye. ‘Whatever, old man. You owe me for this.’ 

‘All the tofu, Stiles. I’ll even eat that green shit you keep trying to feed me.’ Noah said and got into the waiting car. ‘Now come on, I’ll give you a ride back to the Academy.’

Stiles stood and glared at the open door. Parrish clapped him on the shoulder as he passed to get to the other side. 

‘Trust me.’ he said. ‘You really don’t want to know.’ 

‘Sure.’ Stiles muttered and got in. 

That was just the problem. He absolutely did.


	4. Plotting

Peter opened the door and got out, waiting for Derek to do the same before he steered him inside the building. They were back at the Academy and he was feeling like he’d been gutted by their conversation with Noah. He’d wanted to know everything and Chris and Peter had volunteered the information, apart of course from the rape. That was never going to see the light of day, not if Derek didn’t want it to. 

Noah had been quiet, listening intently. Parrish had too and halfway through Chris’ explanation, he’d seen then exchange a glance and wondered just what they’d taken away from that. Noah had also looked at him in a way that Derek was pretty sure meant he’d figured out just how Kate had manipulated him but he’d said nothing, for which Derek was extremely grateful. He’d had enough therapy with Deaton’s sister Marin to know and understand his resulting trauma but he still didn’t want to go making it common knowledge. He’d told few people apart from his pack and his first and only real girlfriend Braeden, a soldier that was under Laura’s command as her adjutant as well as being one her best friends. She’d understood and been patient with him and their physical encounters had gone a long way to helping him heal enough that he no longer viewed physical intimacy as something horrifying. She was now away, fighting in Laura’s regiment, and he kept in contact with her. Their entire relationship had been conducted outside the Academy and he’d not had any others, apart from his persistent daydreams about one Stiles Stilinski. 

They walked the hallways to the staff wing and Derek followed Peter up to his rooms. He had a small suite - bedroom, bathroom, study and sitting room - and once inside Peter shoved him into a chair and went to put the kettle on. 

‘This is too dangerous, Derek.’ he finally said. ‘Even for you. I want you to stay in until we catch her again.’ 

‘I’m a qualified alchemist, Uncle.’ Derek leaned his elbows on his knees. ‘I can help hunt her.’

‘The last time I saw your hands shake like they did this afternoon was when you were testifying as to what that bitch did to you.’ Peter growled. He came over with a mug in his hands and gave it to Derek. ‘I know Chris wants our help, but I’m not willing to let him put you in harm’s way. You’re not going to be bait.’

‘So what will you do?’ Derek inhaled the scent of the tea. It was an old blend that Talia had often served when Satomi had come to visit. 

‘I’m going to go out tonight.’ Peter sat down opposite him, his own mug in hand. ‘I have some old contacts that I can scare up and Chris will be with us. He’s competent.’

Derek couldn’t resist glancing in the direction of Peter’s bedroom and Peter raised an eyebrow at him. 

‘It’s not a conflict of interest.’ He was haughty but Derek knew it was a sore point. ‘I’m merely keeping an eye on him.’

‘Sure.’ he replied, and sipped his tea.

-

Stiles had barely made it back to his dormitory when he was accosted by Lydia. She dragged him into the room he shared with Scott, finger to his lips until she could get the door closed. He turned to see that Scott and Allison had made it back before him and they did not look at all happy. 

‘Oh man.’ He sat down on his bed. ‘I think I get what my dad was warning me about.’

‘Your dad?’ Allison frowned. ‘He was told about this?’

‘I don’t know.’ Stiles hedged. ‘He was told about something. Why? What do you know?’

‘A whole lot I wish I didn’t.’ Allison looked sickened. ‘Let’s just say that if I could change my name and pretend that my family wasn’t mine, I would.’ 

‘What?’ Stiles was completely confused. ‘I mean, I know your dad’s overseeing it but that’s pretty much it. Mine wouldn’t tell me a thing and basically made me promise to stay out of it, it’s that bad.’

‘Exactly.’ Lydia said. ‘It’s so serious that it’s being kept out of any official channels.’

‘How the hell do you know that?’ Stiles flailed wildly. ‘Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?’ He looked at Scott and got nothing but really sad puppy eyes.

‘It’s bad dude.’ He was close to Allison, his protective nature obvious in the way he shuffled to sit pressed up against her. 

‘How bad?’ Stiles asked and Lydia picked up a folder that was lying on Stiles’ bed. 

‘There were two men murdered this morning.’ she replied. ‘It was confirmed by my contact in HQ. They think that the person that set the Hale fire is the same person that killed them. There’s a link between Garrison Myers and the Hales’ deaths and it’s greatly suspected that these two were involved too.’

‘Holy shit.’ Stiles flopped down onto his bed, looking at her with wide eyes. ‘And the person that killed them is…’

Lydia looked at Allison and she gave her a small nod, still looking miserable.

‘It’s Kate Argent.’ she replied. 

‘Kate Argent as in your aunt, Kate Argent?’ Stiles turned to Allison and she made a face.

‘So it seems.’ She sat down heavily on Scott’s bed. ‘She’s the ones that killed the Hales. It’s all there in the fire and it all makes sense. Nobody really explained where she went, just that she’d been transferred somewhere. Now it looks like she’s back.’

‘Damn.’ Stiles picked up the folder and leafed through the papers is contained. ‘So that’s why Derek and Peter were out there.’ He frowned. ‘Hang on. If Kate killed the Hales, why was she even allowed to be transferred. She should have been court martialed. It does explain why they dropped the case against Derek though.’ 

‘That we don’t know.’ Lydia said. ‘There’s only things related to the murders that have just happened in there. Kate’s mentioned in the context of being the suspect because Chris Argent seems to think that she’s tying up loose ends from the murder and that these men where her accomplices.’ 

‘Wow.’ Stiles scanned the documents. They were fairly basic - the medical report on Garrison Myers, a preliminary report as to the circumstances of his death and some rough handwritten notes obviously from that morning about the two others. 

‘My contact will have more for me when the autopsies on Reddick and Unger are done.’ Lydia explained. ‘Those are the alchemists that were killed this morning.’ 

‘Who exactly is your contact?’ Stiles narrowed his eyes at her and Lydia smiled. 

‘None of your business.’ she said sweetly. 

-

Derek got back to the room he shared with Isaac and Boyd, dragging his feet because he knew that they would take one sniff of him and know how upset he was. He appreciated their sympathy but he still felt guilty enough about what had happened that he felt like he shouldn’t be allowed to be comforted. 

He opened the door and was hauled inside before he even managed to say anything. It’s wasn’t Isaac or Boyd, but Erica. Her eyes flashed gold once and then she had her arms around him, nose in his neck. 

‘It’s worse than we thought.’ Boyd was scenting the air behind her. ‘You haven’t smelled this shut down since Laura got sent to the north border.’ 

‘It’s not good.’ Derek muttered, picking Erica up bodily so he could move to his bed and sit down. 

‘What happened?’ Isaac asked. Of all of them, his emotions rode to the surface most easily and his eyes flickered like a broken light. He edged closer and Derek sighed and lifted his free arm. Isaac scooted under it in a shot, leaning and whining. Boyd regarded all of them and then barrelled in so they all ended up sprawled over Derek’s bed, legs tangled. 

‘Kate’s back.’ he finally whispered. ‘She’s killed three alchemists in the past week and Peter and Chris think she’s tidying up.’

‘Oh fuck.’ Erica lifted her head, eyes blazing and her fangs dropped. ‘She’s coming for you.’

‘That’s the theory.’ Derek’s mouth twisted. 

‘Bitch’ll have to get through us first.’ Boyd growled and Derek had never been so thankful for his friends as he was then. 

‘What do we do?’ Isaac asked and Derek sighed. 

‘Peter wants us all in his rooms after dinner.’ he said. ‘He’s got a plan.’

‘Someone should tell Laura.’ Erica said. 

‘No.’ Derek shook his head. ‘She’s the last person we need. They don’t call her the Northern Wall because of her sunny disposition. She’d come back and try to blow Kate to pieces and just end up getting killed. It’s a pretty safe bet, Kate’s still got the Stone.’

‘How dangerous is she?’ Isaac looked up at him, his face set. 

‘Dangerous enough that they let her go after she killed my whole pack.’ Derek growled. ‘If she’s coming after me, that means we’re all in danger.’ 

‘I think she’d think twice, taking on a whole Academy of alchemists.’ Erica lay back down. 

‘She’s just arrogant enough to think she will.’ Derek stared at the ceiling. ‘And why wouldn’t she. She literally got away with murder because she threatened to burn down the whole city.’

‘What is Peter going to do?’ Isaac asked and he blew out a deep breath. 

‘I honestly don’t want to know.’ he replied. 

-

Deaton looked up at the knock on the door, sitting back in his chair as Peter came into his office. 

‘I already know.’ he said and Peter growled. 

‘How.’ He didn’t sit, just started pacing back and forth. 

‘Marin called me.’ Deaton replied. ‘She was there when you all had your little meeting. Nobody ever thinks about the fact that the archivist overhears everything.’ 

‘She knows more secrets than the entire HQ put together.’ Peter had to smile. ‘So you know about what could happen.’

‘I know that Kate could come after Derek.’ Deaton steepled his fingers and regarded Peter over the tops of them. ‘May I make a suggestion?’

‘Of course.’ Peter’s lip curled. ‘Although I absolutely reserve the right to ignore it.’

‘I wouldn’t expect anything less.’ Deaton demurred. ‘What I think would go a long way to alleviating this particular situation would be allowing Derek to reclaim his alchemy.’ 

Peter’s eyebrows nearly shot off his forehead. 

‘Are you seriously suggesting we directly contravene the Military’s order?’ he asked, but there was a fierce look on his face. 

‘They put it in place because it was out of control.’ Deaton replied. ‘And because Derek had no anchor back than. He was a terrified and highly traumatised twelve year old boy. Now he’s eighteen and he has learned how to use his other transmutations very effectively. He has a pack that’s functional and he is years long with his therapy. If ever he’s needed to claim it back, now would be a situation that demands it. Derek will be better able to defend himself against what Kate has planned and maybe get the final closure he so desperately needs.’

‘It would need to be done in a way nobody knows what we’re doing.’ Peter looked thoughtful. ‘And quickly. Who knows when Kate might make her move.’  
-

‘We need a plan.’ Stiles was pacing backwards and forwards. The rest of them were all watching him. Danny and Jackson had returned armed with a bundle of notes from reading the microfiches at the newspaper archives. To nobody’s surprise, Kate Argent hadn’t been mentioned in any context with the Hales at all. That was until Danny had had the genius idea to start looking for her before the fire. 

‘Here.’ He tapped a finger on an open page in his notebook. ‘There was a military ball at Hale House about six months before the fire. She was in attendance. There’s pictures showing her there, so she clearly would have had a chance to case the house, find entrance points or weaknesses or whatever.’ 

‘The Hales only had that ball once a year.’ Lydia tapped her pen against her teeth. 

‘She’d just been promoted to Captain, so she wouldn’t have been been invited.’ Jackson was perched behind Danny, stabbing at the notebook as he chimed in. ‘Only people ranked above Colonel are, so there was someone who got her in. I’m guessing that any plans she’d had were in place long before.’ 

‘Going back to that, this was too well organised to be something she did on her own either.’ Lydia added. ‘And I’m not referring to the people she’s killed. There was someone above her, helping out. They got her into the ball and they gave her access to things she’d need to take out a house full of werewolves. Weapons that use wolfsbane for example.’

‘Those have been banned for as long as there have been packs in Beacon.’ Allison said. ‘So whoever gave them to her, is dealing in illegal arms.’ She looked very unhappy and Scott put an arm around her. 

‘Are you going to be okay?’ he asked. ‘This is a lot to take in.’

‘I can’t believe that they all knew.’ Allison sounded furious. ‘This goes all the way up. There’s no way my father or grandfather didn’t know what she was up to. And they sanctioned her being transferred. They may not have known exactly what she had in mind, but they can’t say they were ignorant in this.’ Her dark eyes were smouldering and Stiles knew he never wanted to get on her bad side. 

‘My question is how does Derek fit into all this?’ Danny frowned. ‘He was there and he was the only person who survived, which is why they put him on trial in the first place.’

‘Maybe he was helping her?’ Scott said and then fell back under the glares he was given. ‘What? He might have been.’

‘No.’ Stiles shook his head. ‘There’s no way anyone would do that to their own family. He was obviously coerced.’

‘That sounds far more likely.’ Lydia said. ‘The trial records are all sealed so we have no idea what happened to change their minds about him being guilty, but I’m betting that he obviously gave Kate up. That’s why she was discharged. The fact that she was attached to my grandfather wouldn’t necessarily have saved her from court martial. She’d need something to bargain with.’

‘What though?’ Stiles asked and saw something flicker in her dark green eyes. He looked at her but Lydia was wearing a perfectly neutral expression and that was when he knew she knew something she wasn’t saying in front of the others. 

There was a deep chime from the autocom and he checked his watch. 

‘Lunch time.’ Scott was already up and moving. It didn’t really matter what kind of drama there was, it would have taken an apocalypse to stop him from eating. Stiles hung back as they filed out, gently touching Lydia’s hand. She met his eyes and gave him an almost imperceptible nod, waiting until the others were out before joining him at the back. 

The corridors were flooded with students and she steered them across to the rear stairwell. They waited until the corridor was emptied of bodies before she spoke, her voice low. 

‘I found something.’ she told him. ‘While I was doing some research last month for Peter on that special credit project.’

‘You mean the one that you refused to tell me about?’ Stiles raised an eyebrow at her and then frowned when Lydia bit her lip. 

‘You know the tenets.’ she said. ‘What’s the third one?’

‘Human transmutation.’ Stiles said instantly. They were all well versed in the rules. 

‘Okay so, there’s a ritual.’ Lydia was seriously unsettled. ‘It’s not exactly human transmutation, but it is forbidden. I only found it because I was looking where I shouldn’t have. Peter got me into the State Archive’s prohibited section and I got curious.’ 

‘What is it?’ Stiles asked, his own curiosity now burning through him. 

‘Have you heard of the Philosopher’s Stone?’ Lydia asked and Stiles snorted. 

‘That’s a myth.’ he said. ‘It doesn’t exist. If it did, the Military would be all over that.’ 

‘It has.’ Lydia gave him a look that told him she was telling the truth. ‘The Military has been experimenting with creating Philosopher’s Stones for decades.’

‘No.’ Stiles felt sick to his stomach. ‘That’s…’

‘Criminal, I know.’ Lydia replied. ‘The thing is, there are a whole lot of things that you don’t know about. The Elric brothers uncovered it at the turn of the last century and then it was all hushed up again. One thing that did come out of what I read was how Philosopher’s Stones are made. Stiles, the chief ingredients is…’

‘Humans.’ Stiles muttered as the pieces fell into place. ‘Fuck me.’

‘The Hales were sacrifices. If humans are good, werewolves would have been even better.’ Lydia said. ‘I’m almost a hundred percent sure of that. The thing is though, that Kate joined the regular military so she would never have had access to the archives. That means someone let her in. Not only that, but you need a high level alchemist to do the transmutation.’ 

‘Derek.’ Stiles was appalled. ‘She used him to kill his own family?’

‘I think so.’ Lydia said. ‘The entire house was consumed by fire but he was found unharmed. That means…’

‘Flame alchemy.’ Stiles breathed. ‘Like General Mustang?’

‘There hasn’t been a Flame Alchemist in the State Military since him.’ Lydia nodded. ‘But, Derek’s not registered as one and he’s never ever used it.’ 

‘And Kate got a Philosopher’s Stone.’ Stiles shuddered. ‘What would that do?’

‘I don’t know.’ Lydia confessed. ‘I was only able to find out that much before I got hauled out by Marin.’ 

‘So we’ve got a military conspiracy, one dead family, an alchemist that doesn’t use his element and a serial killer on the loose.’ Stiles muttered. ‘Well, that’s just peachy.’

‘It just begs so many other questions.’ Lydia added. ‘Like how convenient it was that after Talia Hale’s death, Gerard Argent became General. Kate gets set free by him and not a year after the trial ends, Laura Hale is promoted and sent off to help defend the Northern Border when she’s literally just graduated from Officer’s School. I know she’s a strategic genius, but…’

‘He was getting her out of the way.’ Stiles said. ‘And keeping her there for the next six years means that he can make sure she doesn’t interfere with what he does here.’   
‘And he covers it up by simply promoting her year after year.’ Lydia replied. ‘Peter is effectively hobbled and kept in the Academy and Derek and Cora are already here, so there’s no threat as long as Herard is in control of them.’

‘But now Kate’s just come back.’ Stiles pointed out. 

‘And everything is about to get very interesting.’ Lydia said. 

They made their way to the dining hall, still talking about their theories quietly. Stiles scanned the room when they entered and saw Derek on the very far side. He was back in uniform and sitting with his friends. Stiles was sure he wasn’t imagining how they were all looking particularly unhappy. He nudged Lydia as they got to their regular table. 

‘See that?’ he murmured. ‘I think we should talk to them.’

‘Maybe.’ Lydia replied. ‘After lunch.’ 

-

‘What is Stilinski looking at?’ Isaac asked and Derek lifted his head, just in time to see Stiles and Lydia sit down at their table. 

His mind ticked over and he remembered their scents in the hall that morning. 

‘They saw me and Peter leaving.’ he replied, toying with his food. ‘Not to mention Stiles dad is the Sheriff. He probably knows that we had a meeting.’

‘Would he know about…?’ Boyd let his words trail off meaningfully. 

‘No.’ Derek narrowed his eyes at the fifth years. ‘The Sheriff is not a stupid man. He knows that what he heard this morning can’t go further.’ 

‘You told us.’ Erica pointed out with a wolfish grin. 

‘That’s different.’ Derek said. ‘You’re pack. You also already know about what happened with her.’ 

‘Lydia’s super smart.’ Isaac said. ‘She also works with Peter. Chances are she’s figured something out.’ 

‘Shit.’ Derek scowled at the alchemist in question. ‘I didn’t think about that.’ 

‘All this goddamn intrigue.’ Boyd muttered. ‘Kind of makes me want to go back to working in the automail shop.’

‘Your grandmother and Alicia would be happy.’ Erica grinned at him. ‘So should we beat it out of them?’

‘Always with violence with you.’ Isaac muttered and Derek couldn’t help his smirk. 

‘See if you can scare it out of Stiles first.’ he said. ‘He’s terrified of you.’ 

‘No, he’s not.’ Erica smiled at him. ‘That’s you.’

-

‘What are they talking about?’ Stiles muttered. ‘They keep looking this way.’ 

‘Maybe they know we know.’ Jackson said. ‘I vote we give them Stiles as tribute.’ 

‘Shut up, Jackson.’ Stiles jabbed his fork at him. ‘Or I’ll let Lydia make you into a handbag and matching shoes.’

‘Ye gods.’ Danny stood up from the table. ‘I’ve had enough of this.’ He strode off, ignoring their frantic appeals for him to come back and went over to Derek’s table. They all watched in horror as he spoke to them, waving a hand in their direction. What made it even worse was the growing smile on Erica’s face and Derek giving him a brusque nod. 

‘Well?’ Lydia demanded when he returned. ‘What did they say.’ 

‘Library after light’s out.’ Danny replied. ‘But only you and Stiles.’ He gave the others an apologetic look. ‘And especially not Allison.’ 

‘Fair enough.’ Allison sighed. ‘It’s not like my family isn’t at the very middle of this bullshit.’ 

‘Okay then.’ Lydia looked decidedly like she was scheming. ‘What about the rest of you?’

‘We’ll meet in the War Room.’ Danny grinned. ‘Also known as Jackson’s bed.’ 

‘Why my bed?’ Jackson grumbled. ‘Scott always gets crumbs in it.’ 

They all looked at Scott, who had his mouth full of mashed potato, cheeks bulging like a hamster. He swallowed and blinked innocently at them.

‘What?’ He glanced at Allison who sighed and shook her head. 

‘Nothing.’ she replied. ‘Go back to your potatoes.’

-

‘You should let us go with you.’ Boyd said and Derek shook his head, still watching Stiles. 

‘No.’ he replied. ‘You two are going to keep watch here. ‘ He looked at Isaac. ‘And you’re going to get Cora out of the first year dorm and make sure she stays with you.’ 

‘Got it.’ Isaac said. ‘What do I do if the Ragamuffins tag along?’

Derek groaned. Cora’s friends were also part of or adjacent to Laura’s pack. Liam was another wolf. His mother, Jenna Geyer, was an omega who’d come into town two years previously and petitioned Laura for entry to her pack. David Geyer, Liam’s step-father, was a civilian doctor that worked at the city hospital. Mason was a specialist in metallurgic alchemy while Haley and Corey were chimeric alchemists, able to transform parts of their body into those of different animals. They weren’t wolves and so not pack in the strictest sense, but their animalistic natures gave them appreciation of pack that humans didn’t have and it made sense to give them something they felt close to. 

‘Corral them as best you can.’ he said. ‘Just keep them away from the library. Cora doesn’t need to know any of this yet, but I also want to know she’s safe and I trust you to look after her.’

‘You know.’ Erica said, and now the look in her eyes was downright dangerous. ‘A dark library, late at night, any place for potential ambushers to hide. You don’t know what side they could be on.’

‘It’s Stiles Stilinski, Erica. And Lydia.’ Derek said flatly. ‘Don’t forget Lydia. Or the fact that we have to deal with a literal serial killer who may or may not be coming to exterminate me. If they were working for the wrong side, which I doubt, I don’t think they’d waste time meeting up and would just hand me over.’

‘Fine.’ Erica huffed. ‘It could be a trap, is all I’m saying.’ 

Derek didn’t bother dignifying her words with a reply, opting instead to faceplant into the table in frustration. 

‘I’ll be fine.’ he muttered. ‘Just let me do this my way for once.’

‘Okay.’ Erica jabbed her fork at him. ‘But it’s your funeral, Boss.’


	5. The Circle is Cast

Time passed really slowly when something exciting was about to happen. Stiles was on his bed reading, one foot bouncing in nervous anticipation. Scott was busy fighting his way through a list of transmutation circles, drawing and redrawing them and swearing when he got something wrong. He was more interested in the study of alkahestry than alchemy and was very much enamoured by Deaton’s studies of the Xingian import. 

Stiles chewed on a nail and wished he could pass on his ability to Scott, even if just to make his life easier. He’d never expected to be what he was and the secret he carried bore down on him every time he happened to think about it. The revelations about Derek’s past and the way the deaths of his family had been covered up didn’t come as any surprise to Stiles. The State Military was always looking after itself. Noah had never trusted their hierarchy, which is why he’d never disclosed the real reason for the blackout Stiles had caused when he was ten, or the consequences he’d suffered since and Stiles was tricky enough to hide it well. Not even Lydia knew. 

The knowledge that Derek had been used to kill his own family stuck in Stiles’ gut and made him completely rethink everything he knew about him. There was also the fact that Derek might be hiding his true power and Stiles knew more about that than anyone would ever suspect. Only he and Noah knew the true extent of what he was capable of, and they’d worked hard to keep it hidden. Noah hadn’t wanted to lose the only family he had left and Stiles had been a child, the same age as the youngest Elric brother when they’d done the same thing. 

He looked at the clock, worrying the edge of his nail between his teeth. It was almost half past nine and lights out would be called at ten. The library was on the other side of the building, but Stiles was adept at sneaking out to make food runs on the Academy kitchens and he had the route all mapped out already. 

‘Okay, I give up.’ Scott sat back in his chair and yawned expansively. ‘Once you leave, I’ll give it ten minutes and then go to Jackson’s room.’ 

‘Good.’ Stiles blew out a deep breath. Not too long now.

-

Derek was agitated. He felt Boyd’s eyes on him but said nothing, trying to read the notes Peter had given him on the murder victims. He’d dropped them off earlier, a knowing look in his blue eyes when he saw the way Boyd pretended to have no interest in his late night visit. He knew full well that Derek had no secrets from his packmates, and he’d say nothing about Derek sharing information. 

The results were horrifying. Meyers had been brutally mauled, Riddick and Unger the same before being set alight. That had been done deliberately Derek knew, Kate thumbing her nose at him. She had no fire alchemy herself but what she had was clearly brute strength. Meyer’s internal organs had been pulverised and the other two had been broken pretty much in half to wedge them into the garbage cans they’d been found in. 

This was beyond cruel. It was sadistic and Kate had clearly taken pleasure in her killings. Chemical analysis of the victim’s blood had shown she’d kept them alive for as long as possible. It was a harsh price to pay for helping her, but then again Derek was finding it difficult to have any sympathy for the men that had assisted in the murder of his pack. 

He wondered just what Kate had planned for him. She knew him well enough to know that he would be able to withstand far more punishment than a human and Derek was mentally bracing himself for the worst physical torture she could throw at him. After all, it would still pale in comparison to what he did to himself in his darkest moments, even after all his therapy. 

Lydia and Stiles were definitely up to something and he felt a flicker of unease at the thought that they might have gotten into his sealed files. Both of them were wickedly intelligent and Lydia was persistent to the point of obsession when she wanted to find out something. Stiles had the same desire for knowledge, albeit without her singular focus, and Derek had a feeling he was going to be interrogated at their little meeting. 

Laura was always saying that the strength of the pack was the way the individuals worked together. He missed her fiercely now, knowing that she’d be able to give him good advice on whether or not to trust them. It wouldn’t hurt to have allies in this. 

The five to bell sounded and Derek inhaled deeply and stood up. Boyd got up too, turning out their light. It would be fifteen minutes past lights out that the house masters would make their rounds to check everyone was tucked up in bed. They both got under the covers, feigning sleep. Harris was their housemaster and his lack of concern for the majority of his students and downright dislike for others made him lacks in his checks. It was always very easy to slip past him. Finch was the housemistress for the junior trainee alchemists and she was far more alert. Boyd would have his work cut out for him smuggling out their junior packmates, but Derek trusted Cora with him and the others. There was no other place he’d rather have her if he couldn’t be the one to protect her. 

The sound of Harris’ footsteps started soon after the chime for light’s out. He was quick, preferring to spend the time in his own rooms. Derek and Boyd were halfway along the corridor, Erica and Isaac another three rooms down. There was the snick of the door opening and a brief flare of light. Derek lay still, breathing deeply and evenly and the door closed again. He tracked Harris down the corridor until he turned the corner at the end before he got up. A dummy made of clothing was enough to approximate his shape under the covers and Boyd was holding the door for him when they slipped out into the corridor. 

‘I’ll try to be as quick as possible.’ Derek whispered. ‘But if I’m not back in an hour…’

‘I’ll send out the troops.’ Boyd’s grin was lightning fast. ‘Cora will make sure of that.’

Derek gave him his own half smile and thumped one fist against Boyd’s chest. 

‘Thank you.’ He flashed his eyes and Boyd flashed his back, then they split up and went their separate ways. 

-

Stiles crept along the fifth form corridor, almost holding his breath. Fleming was a fair but stern instructor and she ran the corridor along similar lines. He’d rather stay on her good side. He got to the corner and was about to look back in search of Lydia when a hand shot out and grabbed his arm and Stiles’ nearly wet himself. 

‘Dammit Lydia!’ He had one hand over where his heart, an age old habit he’d never quite broken himself of. His mother had always done the same when Stiles had startled her as a child. 

‘What?’ Lydia narrowed her eyes at him, just visible in the darkness. ‘You really have to start anticipating things, Stiles.’

‘I don’t expect you to jump out of corners at me.’ Stiles grumbled, falling into step behind her. 

‘If I don’t, how will you learn.’ Lydia said in her superiority complex voice and he pulled faces at the back of her head, thankful she wouldn’t be able to tell in the dark. 

They made it out the dorms and down to the first quad that would lead to the academic block. Lydia moved easily, but then she was always running back and forth and knew all the corners of the Academy like the back of her hand. Stiles trotted in her wake, frowning when they got to the main doors of the study block. 

‘How do we get in?’ he whispered and Lydia raised her hand. There was a key in it and Stiles glared at her. ‘You have a master copy? Where the hell did you get that from?’

‘None of your business.’ she said primly and unlocked the door, ushering him inside. 

‘It was Peter, wasn’t it?’ Stiles could admit he was jealous. Then again, Peter was a creeper of magnificent proportions and he scared the crap out of Stiles. 

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Lydia said and breezed past him, moving confidently through the empty hall. The library was up the stairs and to the back of the building and their footfalls were loud in Stiles’ ears. 

They finally got there and went inside. The library was huge, spread out over three levels and Stiles was at a loss as to where they would find Derek when he suddenly saw a flash of electric blue overhead. He looked up to see Derek silhouetted by the huge rose window at the back and felt his stomach lurch. 

‘Up here.’ Derek’s voice echoed slightly. He turned and disappeared, and Lydia immediately headed for the stairs that lead to the mezzanine. Stiles kept up, his breathing coming quicker as they made their way through the stacks. There was a dim light coming from right at the back and eventually they came out into a small alcove at the rear of the mezzanine. 

Derek had one of the study lamps on for them, a courtesy Stiles appreciated. He knew the wolves could see in the dark. He was leaning back against the desk, his face perfectly neutral.

‘Derek.’ Lydia said. 

‘Lydia.’ he replied. ‘Stiles. What did you want to talk to me about?’

‘Wow, getting right down to business huh?’ Stiles fidgeted. Now they were here, it was feeling like a bad idea. Derek’s eyes regained an edge of blue. 

‘What do you know?’ he asked. ‘And don’t bother denying it, I can hear it when you lie.’ 

‘What?’ Stiles blinked. 

‘Werewolves.’ Lydia sighed. ‘They can hear blips in someone’s heart beat when they lie.’ 

Stiles inhaled sharply, starting to feel the first prickles of panic building. He’d never ever heard this before. Derek obviously realised this and sighed. 

‘We don’t advertise it and we don’t listen to people’s heartbeats as a rule.’ he said. ‘It’s considered rude. So don’t worry, I’ve never actively listened to yours. It’s not like your scent doesn’t give you away anyway.’ 

‘Oh jeez.’ Stiles muttered. ‘Maybe not smelling people should also be a thing?’ He looked at Lydia accusingly. ‘You knew about the heart thing?’

‘Peter told me.’ Lydia replied. ‘He’s been training me on how to beat it.’ She met Derek’s eyes without a trace of fear. ‘And we know as much as we’ve been able to find out. We know about the killings, and how they’re connected to your family. We also figured some stuff about about who murdered them.’ 

Derek’s eyes flared and he growled like an angry dog. Stiles took a step back, adrenaline kicking in as his hindbrain told him that this was a very dangerous creature. Lydia looked suitably unimpressed. 

‘We don’t know everything.’ she added. ‘Your records are sealed and nobody can get into them.’

That seemed to mollify Derek a little bit. He shoved his hands in his pockets and glared at them.

‘So.’ He tilted his head. ‘What exactly do you know. I can keep asking until you answer me. I have all night.’ 

‘We know it was Kate Argent.’ Lydia replied, folding her arms. ‘And that she’s back and killing again.’ 

Derek narrowed his eyes at her and then grinned. It was terrifying. 

‘You know more than that.’ He lifted his chin slightly, nostrils flaring. ‘Stiles smells like someone who’s been caught red handed, he’s so guilty.’

‘Hey!’ Stiles jabbed a finger at him. ‘Quit with the sniffing.’ 

‘How about I start with the mauling if you two idiots don’t stop wasting my time.’ Derek growled. He was staring at Lydia and she was giving as good as she was getting. 

‘Quid pro quo, Derek.’ she said. ‘You need to give us what you know, and we’ll give you what we know.’

‘I don’t need to do that.’ Derek smirked. ‘I know everything already.’ 

‘Do you know how to fight against an alchemist using a Philosopher’s Stone?’ Lydia asked. Derek startled as if he’d been shocked and now his fangs were clearly visible. 

‘How do you…?’ He looked torn between anger and confusion. ‘That wasn’t in the file.’

‘No it wasn’t.’ Lydia replied. ‘And nobody would suspect that was what happened, would they? But it’s true, isn’t it? You’ve pretty much confirmed my theory. Werewolves would make one hell of a sacrifice. If Kate’s coming for you, she could do a lot of damage and you could use some backup.’

‘I have my pack.’ Derek gritted out, clearly fighting for control. ‘I don’t need your help.’  
‘Yes, you do.’ Lydia retorted. ‘You’re not even using your true power.’

‘Lydia.’ Stiles elbowed her. ‘Maybe let’s not taunt the werewolf, okay?’

Derek looked utterly confounded before his face changed to an expression of pure fury. 

‘I’m going to kill him.’ he snarled. ‘He was never meant to tell anyone.’

‘He didn’t tell me.’ Lydia snorted. ‘I worked it out myself. Now I have my theory as to what it is. I also have a theory as to who is behind all of this and just how far up it goes. I don;t think Kate targeted you randomly.’

Derek looked shaken. He bit his lip in an uncharacteristically nervous gesture and then looked between them. 

‘Who knows?’ he demanded. 

‘Allison’s the one who got the information regarding Kate.’ Lydia replied. ‘So our whole group knows about that. The fact that she used you and your alchemy to kill your pack and create a Philosopher’s Stone? Only the two of us.’

‘My pack knows most of it.’ Derek finally said. ‘They know about Kate and what she did and what she made me do. Peter has the same theory you no doubt have as to her motivation, but it’s dangerous to talk about it. You know who’s in charge.’

‘Gerard Argent.’ Lydia replied. ‘Who just so happened to take your mother’s place after she was killed. Kate was no doubt motivated by gaining power.’

Something crossed Derek’s face, but it was too quick for Stiles to really get a handle on it. 

‘We’re not going to tell anyone else.’ he said. ‘We just want to keep the Academy safe.’

‘And your father.’ Derek looked at him, those beautiful blue eyes glowing like lanterns. ‘He was there at the meeting this morning and now he knows most of this.’ He sighed. ‘If Kate’s back and killing everyone who helped her, it’s only a matter of time before she comes after me.’ 

‘Which is precisely why we want to help.’ Stiles found himself saying. ‘You won’t have to live with her shadow over your head anymore and I get to keep my dad safe. Either way, she needs to be taken out.’ 

‘We want to help you, Derek.’ Lydia said. 

Derek tensed and then nodded. 

‘Okay.’ he replied. ‘But we’re going to need to the others.’

-

Boyd rapped softly at Cora’s door. It cracked open a second later and her gold eyes peered out at him. 

‘What’s wrong?’ she whispered and Boyd could see Hayley behind her, her eyes also glowing. 

‘There’s something we need to talk about.’ he whispered back. ‘Derek wants you safe with us tonight.’ 

Cora nodded and slipped out the door. Hayley followed, glancing at the door opposite and Boyd nodded. She darted across and he heard her whispering to the boys inside. Seconds later, Liam, Mason and Corey joined them. Boyd hid his smile at how they must look a little like a walking bus and herded them down the corridor. 

-

‘Everyone here?’ Allison did a quick head count and closed Jackson’s door. They were all huddled on his and Danny’s beds and she joined them. There was a crinkle of paper and then a packet of cookies was being passed around. 

‘So now what?’ Jackson hissed. ‘We sit here and get crumbs in my bed?’

‘We wait until the others get back.’ Allison replied, squeezing in next to Scott and taking a cookie. 

‘How long do we give them?’ Danny asked from his end of Jackson’s bed. 

‘Lydia said an hour.’ Allison replied. ‘Then if they’re not back, we go find them.’

‘Great.’ Jackson muttered as Scott predictably got crumbs all over the comforter. 

-

‘Alright.’ Derek’s head dropped. ‘But you can’t tell anyone anything that I’m about to tell you.’ He looked up, eyes flashing. ‘Promise me.’

‘I promise.’ Lydia said readily. She looked at Stiles, her face expectant and he nodded. 

‘I promise.’ He waited and then froze when Derek’s eyebrows took on a slightly bemused configuration. ‘What? I do, I promise I won’t tell a soul. Not even my dad.’

Derek thought about just what Noah Stilinski may have discerned from their previous meeting and thought that Noah may well know more than Stiles shortly would. 

‘I first met Kate at the ball my family held every year.’ he said and Lydia nodded. 

‘We know that.’ she replied. ‘Danny found a clipping showing she was there. Most new recruits don’t even get a sniff at an event like that.’

‘She came with Chris and Gerard.’ Derek replied. ‘I always hated those stupid balls. The three of us would get trotted out for inspection and then sent to bed before any of the real fun started. I remember I had to wear my cadet uniform and it was so scratchy.’ His eyes were distant. ‘Laura and I would sneak downstairs, try to steal things from the kitchen and then eat them in the garden. That night I know we did that, but for some reason Laura got caught and I escaped by myself. I was sitting there, just minding my own business and then Kate turned up.’ He frowned. ‘I don’t know how she knew I was there. I’ve thought about it a lot and I can only come to the conclusion that she had maybe spied on us somehow.’

‘Or there was a mole in the household.’ Stiles’s brain was already engaged in working on the problem. ‘Someone who came and went and knew your habits.’

‘Maybe.’ Derek shrugged. ‘She was nice. She talked to me like I was an adult. After that, she seemed to turn up a lot wherever I went. Every time Gerard came to the house to see my mother, she seemed to be with him.’ He looked away and Stiles suddenly realised what he was seeing and went cold. He was well acquainted with guilt and shame and that was what was written all over Derek’s face. ‘We struck up a relationship of sorts.’

‘Of sorts.’ Lydia looked mildly horrified. ‘What would Kate want with you. You were twelve.’

Derek smiled but there was no humour in it. 

‘I should have asked myself that question.’ he replied. ‘All I knew was that there was someone who was interested in spending time with me. Someone older and already enlisted. She was so confident and so…’ He trailed off. ‘I was stupid. I told her things. Things about the house, about the pack. About being a werewolf.’

‘You were her in.’ Stiles tasted bile in his mouth. ‘Oh God, and she used it to kill them.’ 

‘Yes.’ Derek folded his arms again. ‘The night of the fire, we met out in the back garden. I had no idea what she had planned. I was convinced that…’ He growled under his breath. ‘Look, you can guess what I was convinced of. The point is, I was off my guard and she managed to knock me unconscious. When I woke up, she had us all tied up in the basement. There was a transmutation circle. She started the ritual and it broke me right open.’ His eyes flicked to Lydia and she nodded her understanding. ‘There was fire. A lot of it. Out of control. It burned them all alive and left me untouched because I was the one making it happen.’

‘Flame alchemy.’ Lydia breathed. ‘I had a suspicion.’

‘Peter always talks about how smart you are.’ Derek’s mouth quirked. ‘Peter and Laura were here. I didn’t know then, but Cora had been playing outside, after her bedtime. Everyone else though, they were sacrificed and Kate made her Philosopher’s Stone. She threatened to burn down Beacon with it, if she wasn’t allowed to go free.’

‘That’s why she was transferred.’ Stiles was furious. ‘And they tried to put you away for the murder.’

‘I didn’t tell anyone about her part in it.’ Derek sighed. ‘I couldn’t. It was actually Garrison Meyers that confessed and put an end to it. After that I told the tribunal what happened and they made their decisions. They put a prohibition order on my alchemy, said I couldn’t use it. That was my punishment, but they let me into the academy. I think it was so they could keep an eye on me more than anything.’

‘They made you give up your alchemy?’ Lidia looked livid. ‘That’s...inhuman! You deserved justice, not bloody censure!’

‘Not a human, Lydia.’ Derek’s smirk was so tired and he looked years older than he was. ‘I don’t know if you remember, but things got pretty bad for wolves after that. I’m lucky they didn’t put me down.’

‘Peter and Laura would never have allowed them to do that.’ Stiles said. 

‘Laura’s not here though, is she?’ Derek snorted. ‘They got her far away from here. And Peter’s just as bound as I am.’ He shook his head, disdain all over his face. ‘I wouldn't be surprised if Kate coming her hasn’t been directed. A chance to finish what she started and get rid of all the pesky wolves that are left.’

‘We won’t let her.’ Stiles blurted out. 

Once again, that odd look crossed Derek’s face. 

‘Why?’ he asked. ‘Why help me?’

‘Because this isn’t right.’ Lydia declared. ‘Because people have done this before and tried to take the world with them and I think it might be happening again.’ 

Derek looked at them long and hard before finally nodding. 

‘Boyd went to get Cora and the rest of the pack.’ he said. ‘Peter’s gone to look up some old contacts. We can all go and talk in his rooms.’

‘Good.’ Lydia replied. ‘We won’t tell them anything you;re not happy to divulge but at least we’ll be able to come up with a plan to protect you and the rest of us.’

Stiles saw the tension drain out of Derek, his shoulders easing, and felt much relieved that things had been worked out. He was about to speak when he felt an odd shiver go down his spine. Next to him, Lydia went pale. 

‘Stiles? Can you hear them? They’re coming...’ She turned and he saw her eyes turning white and all his blood ran cold. 

‘What is she doing?’ Derek was at their side in an instant but it was too late. Lydia opened her mouth and screamed and the sound ripped through the air around them just as the sound of a distant explosion reached their ears. 

\- 

Outside the main gate of the Academy, Kate Argent pushed back the hood of her cloak and admired her handiwork. She’d sent out the wave of power hard enough that it had slammed into the massive wooden doors and stuck fast before exploding with enough force to rip the doors from their hinges. The transmutation tattoos on both palms glowed red with power and she threw back her head and swaggered inside them, oblivious to the fire raging around her. It curled around her feet, moving out of her way and Kate turned to take in the entry quad. She’d never had the fortune to attend the Academy, too weak and with powers that were considered insignificant. 

Now here she was, stronger than any other living alchemist could ever hope to be. In her chest, the Stone pulsed in time with her heart as it fed her its power and she drew on it and nurtured it until it flowed from her hands in great explosive waves. 

She had a traitor to catch and wolves to burn. It was time to get to work.


	6. Humunculi

‘What the fuck?’ Erica was on her feet, her eyes wide as the whole building shook with the force of a powerful explosion. The others were frozen, listening intently. The cubs were on Boyd’s bed and she and Isaac had been on Derek’s. They were all still dressed, ready to act if they needed to. 

‘Do you think…?’ Isaac’s eyes flicked to the younger wolves. 

‘I think.’ Erica was at the door, throwing it open. There was the sound of the emergency bells going off and as she watched, students started falling out their rooms blinking in surprise but following the protocol for evacuation. Attack was always a possibility in the State Military and they’d all been drilled again and again in how to respond. 

‘Move along!’ Harris was at the end of the corridor, waving his arms in the direction the students needed to go. 

‘Derek.’ Cora’s dark eyes were flaring gold. ‘Boyd, you have to go get him!’

‘I will.’ Boyd promised, already sliding his gauntlets on. He glanced at Erica and she nodded. ‘Isaac, can you manage the cubs?’

‘I’ll make sure they’re safe.’ Isaac looked determined. ‘Stay safe.’ He hustled the younger wolves towards the door, knowing that the situation would make it easy to hide them in the shuffle outside. 

Boyd and Erica waited long enough that the tail end of the students on their corridor before slipping out and then melting into the shadows and moving in the opposite direction. Erica was tugging her gloves on, the transmutation circles she used sewn onto the backs in black silk thread. 

‘The library?’ she asked and then threw herself back against the wall when another explosion shook the building. ‘You think that’s her?’

‘Seems awfully coincidental if it’s not.’ Boyd growled. ‘Crazy murderer comes back to town to clean up, she’s going to come here.’ 

-

Kate strode through the Grand Hall that led into the Academy. Behind her, the four shadows that followed her fell into formation. She wrinkled her nose, her habitual abhorrence of them and their kind still clawing at her insides, even as she commanded them. Once this was done, she was going to execute them all, her father be damned. 

‘That way.’ She pointed to the doorway the led off the the left. ‘He’ll be helping with the evacuation. Find him and bring him to me.’ 

The two men she spoke to, identical twins, nodded without a word and disappeared through the doorway and into the darkness. The others, a woman with long dark hair and a bald man, waited for instructions. The alarm bells were still ringing, but that didn’t matter to her. She had two targets in mind, one of whom would be considerably more difficult to take down than the other and would no doubt be well aware of who was behind this attack. Fortunately, Derek was also a creature of stupid nobility. There would be no way he’d allow her to hurt anyone when he could confront her himself and protect the others, and she was counting on that fact to bring him right to her. 

-

‘Shit.’ Derek’s senses were firing all at once. He could hear the deep reverberations through the building in wake of the explosions, the realisation that someone had just blasted their way into the Academy leaving it in no doubt as to who had just made an appearance. He looked at Stiles, crouched over a dazed Lydia. ‘Is she alright to move?’

‘I don’t honestly know.’ Stiles’ heart was racing but he smelled calm and his voice never wavered. ‘I’m assuming that the person who just blew their way in is her.’ He moved to help Lydia up and Derek went to them. He got his arms around her and picked her up easily, her weight seeming fragile and delicate in his arms. She was whispering, her eyes still blank and white but he couldn’t understand the language she was using. 

‘We need to move.’ he said, his ears assaulted by the alarms still going off. ‘The evacuation plan means everyone is getting out the building right now. The State Military will have been informed and so will the Watch.’ 

‘The Watch.’ Stiles went pale. ‘My dad. She’ll kill him.’

Derek met his eyes and saw something there that he identified with all too much. It was the same feeling that had made him get Cora into a place she was safe. Anger lit up inside him like a fire raging out of control.

‘New plan.’ He growled. ‘We get Lydia out, then I take that bitch down.’ 

‘What?’ Stiles looked appalled. ‘You can’t take her on by yourself. She’s got A Philosopher’s Stone!’

‘And the only reason she has it is because of me!’ Derek snarled. ‘I’m not letting her burn the Academy to the ground and take out everyone in it so she can finish what she started. If I can buy everyone some time, I’m going to.’

‘Jesus, of all the stupid self-sacrificing bullshit.’ Stiles muttered, but he was right behind Derek, following him down the stairs to the lower level. ‘That is the worst idea I have ever heard.’

‘Maybe so.’ Derek replied, hefting Lydia so he could run with her. ‘But it’s better than letting my pack get hurt again.’ 

The doors to the library flew open and he skidded to a stop so abruptly that Stiles ploughed right into the back of him. 

‘Fuck!’ He looked frantic, peering past Derek. 

Derek ignored him, his own heart picking up speed in gratitude when he saw Erica and Boyd running towards them. The doors had been blown off their hinges by one of Erica’s concussive blasts, the transmutation circles on her hands still glowing gold with power in the same shade as her eyes. 

‘There you are.’ Her face was filled with relief. ‘We need to get the fuck out, now.’ Her eyes flicked to Lydia and her face creased up with concern. ‘Is she okay?’

‘I’m fine.’ Lydia slurred. ‘The screaming makes my head fuzzy.’

There were other noises now, the sound of shouts and the heated electrical smell of alchemy drifting in through the open doors. 

‘Here.’ Derek handed Lydia off to Boyd. ‘It’s Kate. I need to stop her.’

‘Um, no.’ Boyd growled. 

‘Yeah, what the hell?’ Erica’s fangs had dropped. ‘We literally had a conversation tonight about not letting her get to you.’

‘And yet here she is.’ Derek snapped. ‘I’m not letting her hurt Cora.’ 

‘Isaac’s got Cora and the cubs.’ Boyd assured him. ‘And we’ve got you. We’re not letting you be an idiot and just run right into what is blatantly her trying to trap you.’

‘Thank you.’ Stiles had an impressive stink eye. ‘That’s exactly what I was saying.’ 

Derek gave him the finger and then winced when Erica cuffed the back of his head. 

‘Fine.’ he growled. 

‘Good.’ she declared. ‘Now let’s get the fuck out of here.’

-

Isaac herded the cubs with the rest of the students until he could see Harris. They were in the rearmost quad, the gates at the end open to let the students stream out and into the Academy’s grounds. He moved in front of the cubs, knowing that Harris would not let any opportunity go to point out a flouting of the rules, even if the Academy was under attack. 

He bunched them together, ignoring Cora’s protesting elbow to his side, seeing how Harris was clearly scrutinising everyone that was moving past. 

‘Stop it.’ he hissed. ‘You’re going to get us in trouble.’

‘We should be going back in.’ Cora growled. ‘My brother could be in serious trouble.’

‘You brother is the one who made me do this.’ Isaac retorted, then inhaled sharply when Harris turned his head in their direction. ‘Oh, balls…’

Harris was moving towards them at speed. 

‘Lahey!’ His voice held that note of cruel authority that had Isaac cringing, even after all this time. 

‘Go!’ He shoved Cora forward along with the other cubs, but just as she turned to protest the wall behind them blew apart and debris rained down in massive pieces of masonry. Isaac threw himself forward, shielding Cora from the worst of it. Next to her, Corey and Liam were doing the same to Mason. Hayden’s eyes were glowing gold from where she’d leaped clear up to the overhanging beams. 

‘What the hell is that?’ She pointed a clawed finger at the huge thing that was lumbering through the wrecked wall. Isaac staggered to his feet, ears still ringing and gaped at the shape in front of him. It was huge, easily seven feet tall, and monstrous. Its face was misshapen, its massive hands tipped with razor sharp claws and its eyes burned an ugly red. 

‘Fuck.’ Cora was next to him, shifted and furious. ‘It smells like a wolf, but it’s all wrong.’

‘Jesus.’ Isaac had to shove her again. ‘Get the hell out!’ 

Cora didn’t need to be told twice, her and the other cubs making a break for the gate along with the other screaming students. Blue lighting was crackling down the wolf’s arms, his fangs bared as he pinpointed a shaking Harris. 

‘No.’ His voice was quavery with fear. ‘No. You can’t...she said I’d be safe.’ He was frantically backing up even as a few other sixth years were coming forward to fight, their faces set. 

The wolf roared, the tendons in his thick neck standing out, and Harris looked like he was about to piss himself in fear. Next to him one of the sixth years, Holloway, rammed both fists against the ground and the very earth rippled under their feet as he manipulated it into sharp spears of stone that raced towards the intruder. 

It had little effect. The wolf swung a massive fist and demolished them easily, then charged through towards them. One massive fist caught Holloway and lifted him right off the ground to send him flying into a wall. He hit with a sickening crunch and didn’t get up. Two more sixth years were already attacking, Stewart and Patrick, their alchemy calling forth thick chains that wrapped themselves around the wolf. Isaac saw his opening, gratified to see that Cora and the others had made it out the gate before he clapped his hands together. He’d had his transmutation circles tattooed onto the undersides of his wrists, the pain being something of a rite of passage that had been very meaningful to him. They lit up and he moved, his speed blurring him to any human eye, and he skidded beneath the chains and slammed into the wolf. His momentum took the wolf’s feet out from under him but he was still mobile enough to swipe at Isaac. Only his supernaturally fast reflexes saved him and he shot past, ducking the blow by inches. 

The wolf was back on his feet. He wrapped the chains around his wrists and swung them so hard that both Stewart and Patrick slammed into each other when the chains caught them. They tumbled to the ground, completely unconscious and that left only Harris standing. 

‘Bloody hell.’ Isaac muttered under his breath at seeing one of their instructors acting like an unskilled first year in the face of a real threat and he flew past the wolf, neatly getting his head taken off by the swinging chains as he took Harris to the ground. 

They hit the ground hard, all the breath knocked out of them. Isaac groaned and looked up just in time to see the chains coming down right towards his face. He yelled and rolled just in time. The wolf roared again, spittle flying from fangs that looked as long as his fingers and Isaac winced and braced himself for the hit. 

Thankfully it never came and the next thing he knew, Isaac was hit with a wall of heat and the stone walls that had been blown apart started to glow red, the rock literally melting. He peered through the shimmering waves of heat and saw Danny standing there. His eyes glowed red like an alpha’s, his hands outstretched as he folded the now molten rock into a pool that cemented the wolf’s feet into place. He snarled angrily, his skin blistering and healing repeatedly as he struggled to free himself. Jackson stepped out next to him, cracking his neck as he shifted, scales covering his exposed skin. He flicked out lethal looking claws and hissed as he circled the wolf, leaping in and away until he could get a clean blow, his claws leaving four bloody furrows across the wolf’s bare back. The wolf lashed out, managing to connect just enough to throw Jackson back into Danny, taking them both out. Isaac was back on his feet and getting ready to run back in when he heard Allison’s voice. 

‘Get down!’ She came through like an avenging angel, her alchemy sending a devastating wave of projectiles through the air. They slammed into the wolf, ripping skin and flesh and causing wounds that would have been fatal to just about anybody else. 

She stood her ground, firing without stopping and the wolf dropped to one knee. Isaac had expected some healing, but nothing could withstand the attack that Allison was producing (and he was more than a little enamoured by how skillful she was) but when he looked at the wolf his eyes widened in shock. 

Every gash, every rend was closing up far quicker than even a wolf would have managed. The man stood tall, his fangs bared in a snarl and Allison sent a new volley at him. He batted most of these away, but not before Isaac caught a glimpse of something glowing red deep within his guts as the final wound sealed up. He ran as the wolf brought down both fists to the ground, sending out a shockwave that ripped up the ground and threw him right into Allison. They both went down, too hurt to even protest when the wolf finally made it to Harris. He grabbed the whimpering alchemist in both hands, clamping him tight under one massive arm before charging out through the rear wall of the quad and leaving them all panting in his wake. 

‘Ally!’ A shadow fell across Isaac’s face and he blinked up at Scott, now crouched over both of them. His ribs ached but he would heal. Allison, however, was white as a sheet and clearly in pain. Isaac watched as Scott gently eased up her uniform and placed his hands to her sides. He blew out a breath and the two tooled leather cuffs he wore, inscribed with the healing alkhestry that he favoured, glowed a soft blue. Allison made a soft noise of pain and then started to relax as Scott’s healing worked. Eventually she was breathing easily and Scott eased her down and looked around. 

‘The others?’ he asked and Isaac waved a hand in the direction of Danny and Jackson. 

‘That thing.’ He sat up, one hand pressed to his side. ‘What was it?’

‘I don’t know.’ Scott moved to where Jackson was up and helping Danny to his feet, cradling one arm. 

‘His wrist's broken.’ Jackson looked at the new hole in the wall. ‘Whatever it was, it took Harris.’ 

‘Why though?’ Isaac crouched down next to Allison, his nostrils flaring as he scented the air. Her pain was still lingering but she gave him a watery smile and accepted his hand when he helped her up. 

‘Still don’t know.’ Scott muttered, eyeballing him even as he was applying his healing to Danny’s arm. 

-

Cora was frantic. She could hear the sound of continued explosions inside the Academy and while most of the students had escaped, Derek and the rest of her pack were not among them. She looked around and considered making a break for it. They had all been taken to the rear wall of the Academy grounds. Several instructors were missing and she assumed they were busy fighting inside. 

There was an underground tunnel at the far side of the Academy grounds and the remaining instructors guided them towards it. Finch was already there, waving them through and Cora growled, not happy about abandoning her pack when she saw someone pushing out past the students and her entire body almost vibrated in relief. 

‘Uncle Peter!’ She threw herself at him and he caught her. Behind him, Deaton was looking at the flames, now a radiant red-gold against the night sky. 

‘The Watch and the Military are on their way.’ he said to Finch. ‘What is going on?’

‘There was an attack.’ Finch replied. ‘We evacuated everyone, but there are still some students unaccounted for.’

‘What?’ Peter’s eyes were glowing blue. 

‘Derek.’ Cora told him. ‘He’s still inside. Isaac was supposed to get us all out but there was this giant werewolf and he attacked Harris and nothing the others did seemed to stop him.’ 

Peter growled deep in his chest. 

‘Look after her and the others.’ he barked at Deaton and took off, racing back towards the Academy buildings like his tail was on fire. 

-

‘Is he dead?’ Stiles’ eyes were wide. Derek huffed the stink of charred alchemist out of his nose and stood up from his crouch. Westover’s sightless eyes and distinct lack of heartbeat were clear enough. 

‘She burned him from the inside out.’ he said and Boyd and Erica both gave him significant looks. 

‘Fuck.’ Stiles nudged Westover with his toe. ‘That’s some creepy shit.’

The Academy was eerily silent, apart from the still blaring alarms. Derek couldn’t hear the sound of anyone still evacuating and that made him breathe a bit easier. They now just needed to get out the back of the building and make their escape. They were in the central hall between the dormitories and the library, the whole place in shadow and making him feel on edge. Boyd and Erica were the same, still partially shifted. Lydia was much recovered and back on her feet. She stopped, tilting her head in a way that was almost canine. 

‘Listen.’ She was completely focused. Derek frowned, but he did as she said and then he heard it. It was soft and stealthy and he would have lost his head if he wasn’t a werewolf when the attack came out of nowhere. The claws that sliced through the air after him were longer than any wolf would have had naturally and even as he rolled back onto his feet, shifted and ready to fight, he saw them shrink in length into the hands of the she-wolf that was in the way between them and the door to the rear quad and their escape. Her long dark hair swayed around her beautiful face like a curtain and she was dressed in sleep black, her feet bare and her toe claws every bit as lethal looking as the ones on her hands. Her eyes flashed a brilliant crimson at them. 

‘Oh look.’ Her voice was a husky purr. ‘I’ve found some rabbits to hunt.’


	7. Kill You Until You Die

‘Derek.’ Stiles tried not to let his voice waver. He could see how the werewolf’s eyes were glowing with anger as the woman circled them. ‘Now might be a good time to let the lion out of the cage.’

‘Is that a cat joke?’ Derek snarled. He was half shifted, his claws and fangs out. ‘Go. Take her with you. I’ll handle this.’

‘Oh really, cub?’ The woman smiled, her own fangs catching what little light there was. ‘I’d like to see you try.’

Derek growled and Stiles stepped behind him. He didn’t want what was coming, knew that if it got out he’d be in serious trouble. He clenched his hands into fists, hoping that whatever was going to happen, the others would be quiet about what they saw.

‘Run!’ Derek roared and they all took off, scattering through the hall. Stiles panted as he ran to keep with him, Lydia at his side.

‘This way.’ She took off down a side corridor and they all followed her. The woman was behind them, her laugh echoing off the walls. The corridor ran between the two quads and the next hall they came to was the front one in the main building of the Academy. From here they could cut back through the east block and make it out the back into the rear east quad and then the Academy garden and down to the evacuation route.

They were halfway through when another shade melted out of the darkness and they all skidded to a stop, pinned between this new player and the woman, slinking in behind them. Her eyes were red as she skulked through the shadows.

‘Kali.’ the man intoned in a deep voice. He was tall and muscular, his bald head just adding to his rough hewn power. He moved with a ponderous fluidity, like an ocean at rest but with barely constrained power underneath. ‘Is this the cub?’

‘That one.’ Kali pointed a clawed finger at Derek. ‘The others are expendable.’

‘Oh fuck you, bitch!’ Erica spat. ‘Like hell we are!’

Kali’s eyes narrowed and she cackled and threw out both hands, her claws extending to a ridiculous degree and stabbing through the air. They all through themselves to the sides and Stiles landed hard, panting as he rolled to his feet. Erica was just ahead of him and she snarled and punched back, her transmutation circles lighting up as she struck, the air seeming to draw in close and then pushing out in a wall of dense pressure, the force of it throwing the statues lining the hall to the ground and lifting Kali right off her feet.

The bald man growled, the reverberations ringing in Stiles’ ears. He saw Derek and Boyd turn face off against him, and the man shifted into something that barely resembled a wolf. Derek glanced back, also shifted into his beta form.

‘Take Lydia!’ he shouted. ‘Go!’

Stiles grabbed Lydia’s hand and they took off.

-

Derek heard the sound of Stiles’ and Lydia’s footsteps retreating and felt glad. He wanted Stiles as far away from this as possible. The wolf in front of him and Boyd was huge and older, clearly a very experienced alpha. There was something else about him, the same thing as Kali, a corruption in their scent that spoke of something truly terrible.

‘Remember Ennis, we just need the whelp.’ Kali purred. She was circling and Erica moved in so they were back to back with each other.

‘You’ll only get him if you go through us.’ she growled and Derek wanted to kiss her and strangle her at the same time.

‘Jesus, Erica.’ he muttered through his fangs. ‘Maybe let’s not antagonise the crazy alpha wolves.’

‘They smell wrong.’ Boyd rumbled. The transmutation circles on his semi-gaunts were glowing blue.

‘Yeah.’ Erica wrinkled her nose. ‘What is that? And what’s the deal with the crazy claws?’

Ennis growled deep and menacing and charged. He moved deceptively quickly and Derek darted back, letting Boyd step in and block the blow. He was easily the strongest person Derek knew and Ennis was caught off guard by how strong he actually was when Boyd managed to stay on his feet and stop Ennis in his tracks.

Kali screamed in anger and this time she used both hands, the extended claws shooting through the air. Derek dodged them by only inches. The tattoo between his shoulder blades throbbed but he was not going to unleash something he’d never been able to control and he wasn’t going to be able to stop to make a circle to launch a counterattack. Thankfully Erica was crafty and her strike came from the side. This time she used a different trick, the air twisting in a tight coil that wound itself around Kali, throwing her to the ground. He claws retracted and she sneered at Erica, this time using her clawed feet to kick at her head. Erica ducked, her golden braid swinging with her as she slid across the polished floor and back out of Kali’s reach until she was at Derek’s side.

‘Go after Stiles.’ she hissed. ‘If there’s another wolf…’

Derek thought of Kate and how much worse than a wolf she was. He nodded and when Erica yanked all the air around them in towards her making Kali choke on nothing, he ran for the door they’d disappeared into. Behind him, Boyd and Ennis were trading blow for blow and just as he made it through the door, a massive chunk of masonry fell from where Ennis had slammed his best friend into the wall.

Derek didn’t stop to look back.

-

Peter heard the sound of fighting and dropped to all fours, speeding up as he searched for his pack. He skidded around a corner, snarling when his nose was filled with a distinct scent that had his hackles up in seconds.

Peter remembered the war. He remembered being a green recruit and working under the command of a pair of wolves that he despised. They had been cruel and unrestrained in their bloodlust and Peter, not known for his own levels of control, had been appalled at their willingness to kill indiscriminately. He also remembered that they had fallen in action. Or that was what he had heard. There had been funerals with military honours but now here he was, smelling them in his Academy. There was a disgusting sickly sweet note to their scents, a corruption that was nothing like a wolf smelled, even a power hungry wolf out of control.

He crouched instinctively, his eyes glowing blue and his fangs bared. Erica and Boyd were just barely holding their own, both of them fighting back to back. They were shifted, drawing on their werewolf strength to defend themselves from the fierce attacks that would have killed them if they had been human.

Kali had her back to him but he could see her tilt her head, her senses picking up his scent even as she lashed out. Erica was not quick enough this time and Peter snarled in horror when he saw long lethal looking claws extend from the tips of Kali’s finger and catch Erica in the shoulder, driving themselves right through her. She roared in pain and that distracted Boyd long enough that he half turned. It was all Ennis needed to catch him by the throat and hurl him through the air until he smashed into the wall behind them.

Peter watched as they turned to him, and leaned forward to place one hand on the ground. He had something they didn’t know about, something that had been part of the reason he’d been forbidden from every being a field alchemist again. It had scared the living hell out of the Military and he’d been lucky to avoid a court martial. The only reason he hadn’t been brought before the tribunal had been the desire to hide what he’d done to protect the Military.

Now he had no qualms at all about revealing himself. He had a pack to protect and Erica and Boyd would never tell anyone. They were loyal to Laura and they would protect his secret just like they protected Derek’s. Pack took care of each other and Laura and Derek had understood and never told anyone else.

Sasha had been the love of his life. Peter had fallen into a very dark place when his mate had been taken from him and he’d done the unthinkable. It hadn’t worked. All it had done was leave him with an aching hole where his mate had been. The stories told how the Elric brothers had lost limbs, that Izumi Curtis had lost part of her insides. Maybe it was different with werewolves, but he’d been left whole. What Peter had lost was far far worse.

Now he couldn’t even remember anything, apart from Sasha’s name. His scent, the sound of his laugh, every tender memory that he and Peter had made together was gone. That had been the price and Peter had been left sobbing into his hand while the abomination he’d summoned had rasped its last breaths inside the transmutation circle he’d drawn on the floor of the derelict Hale house.

He raised his head, loosening the tight hold on his alchemy as he called up the darkness in every corner. He’d read stories of the homunculus Pride, how it had killed by using the shadows cast by light. Peter didn’t need the light, he could make the shadows himself and now he did, watching them swirl and gather around the other two werewolves.

‘What did you do?’ he snarled. ‘What did you become?’

Kali smirked at him.

‘Peter Hale.’ she purred. ‘I’d hoped you were dead. No such luck.’

Peter threw back a razor sharp smile.

‘And much to my disappointment, you’re not only still alive but you’re also still the same bloodthirsty bitch you were back then.’ he growled. ‘Although I have to say, you smell very different to the last time I scented you.’

Kali’s smirk slid off her face, replaced by fury.

‘They left us to die.’ Her eyes were a brilliant ruby. ‘But we showed them. He brought us back.’

Peter barely had time to leap out of the way of her strike. She moved far too fast, even for a werewolf.

No, there was definitely something else going on.

-

Derek slowed. He could hear something up ahead, the sound of two rapid heartbeats and smell the mix of fear and defiance that marked out Stiles and Lydia. In any other situation, he would have rushed to check they were alright but something felt off. A prickle of fear ran down his spine when he heard it, the smallest noise as something far stealthier than the two humans stalked them through the darkness.

He moved slowly, sticking to the wall and not even faring his eyes to keep himself concealed. Every fibre of his body was screaming for him to turn tail and run away, but Derek steeled himself and crept into the east hall. What he saw made him shudder.

Stiles was on his knees, an unconscious Lydia in his arms. He looked up, frowning at where Derek was standing like he couldn’t quite make him out. That was when Derek saw the shape melt out of the shadows behind him.

‘Stiles!’ He threw himself forward, but knew he wouldn’t get there in time.

Stiles turned too late, and Derek howled in anguish as Kate stepped up behind him, her smile cruel as she held out her hands and ripples of power licked down her arms. The very ground underneath Stiles and Lydia cracked and bowed in on itself, crushing them inside a stone tomb, and Derek pulled himself up short, dragging his claws along the floor to stop himself before he got caught in it.

He stayed down, panting hard as he looked into the face of the person who’d destroyed his life and nearly killed him in the process. Kate watched him, her eyes glittering in the dark and her lips curled up as she smiled.

‘Hey puppy.’ she crooned. ‘Didn’t you just grow up in all the right places. I don’t know whether to kill you or lick you.’

Derek bared his fangs at her, horribly confused by her scent. It wasn’t anything close to being human and that completely threw him, making him paw at the ground and snarl as he sized her up.

Kate saw the confusion on his face and laughed.

‘You better give it your best shot.’ She came towards him and Derek could feel the ground start to vibrate under him. ‘You only get one. I came here to finish what I started and that means getting what I’m owed.’

‘Yeah?’ Derek was more furious than he could ever remember being. Not even those first rage filled months after the fire compared to this, to seeing Kaste alive and standing in front of him. ‘And just what the fuck is that?’

‘You, of course.’ Kate replied and ripped the floor up from underneath him.

Derek was tumbled over, desperately trying to get his feet back under him. The power Kate had unleashed was insane and he fell over and over, scrambling to get away from the huge walls of stone she had closing in on him. He thought about Stiles and Lydia, trapped inside and probably crushed to death and suddenly all he could think about was killing Kate so she could never take anyone else away from him.

He hadn’t even got a chance to be brave enough to tell Stiles how he felt about him and Derek couldn’t decide whether that was better or worse. At least if he could take down Kate, even if it meant dying with her, he’d have done some good.

-

Peter swore, rolling away from the dart of Kali’s claws. She was a superlative fighter when he knew her and she was even better now, wily and quick and absolutely ruthless. He had deep wounds to his side and shoulder and only his skill and experience had been keeping him alive. It did mean that Erica and Boyd, both still struggling with their injuries, could keep Ennis occupied. They were working together, both of them using their alchemy and Boyd’s strength to keep him and Kali separated as they rained down blow after blow to try and take him off his feet.

Peter hit out, the shadows called to him twisting around Kali and choking her. She clawed at her neck and it gave Peter a chance to lunge forward, his claws ripping through her tight black clothing and shredding the flesh underneath. He fell back, waiting for her to double over in pain but it never happened. Instead she stood tall, her eyes flaring as the deep gashes in her side started to knit over in a way that was completely unnatural.

Peter was aghast. He roared and threw himself at her and this time she didn’t even try to stop him. His hand sank into her chest, claws deeply embedded, but all Kali did was look at him.

Peter staggered back, not knowing what to do.

‘You..’ he started and Kali laughed. It wasn’t a pleasant sound.

‘I told you he changed us.’ she replied and now she wrapped her own fingers around the edges of the gaping hole in her chest and opened it wide. Inside, Peter saw the crimson glow of something that filled him with horror.

‘No.’ he breathed. ‘It’s not possible.’

‘Oh but it is.’ Kali replied. ‘History truly does repeat itself.’

-

The force of the blast Kate let loose slammed Derek into the ground. He managed to get his hands under him, wheezing in pain as he pushed himself up off the ground. Blood ran freely from his mouth and he could feel that his ribs were broken and that at least one had pierced his lung. He looked up. Kate was standing over him, her beautiful face so very ugly in its cruelty.

‘Poor little puppy.’ She crouched down and grabbed him by the hair, hauling him back onto his feet. Derek had no idea how she could be so strong. Even with a Philosopher’s Stone, this was extraordinary.

Derek snarled and spat blood in her face.

‘You’ll have to kill me.’ he gritted out. ‘I let you use me once. I’ll die before I let you do it again.’

‘So fiesty.’ Kate smiled. ‘And still so scared. You haven’t once tried to use your real alchemy on me. Did I break you that well that you can’t even get it up anymore?’

Her other hand wrapped around his throat, squeezing until black spots started dancing in front of Derek’s eyes. Her taunt worked through and she was right. He was terrified of using what had killed his family, especially knowing that he had no way to anchor himself or his power. He would more than likely blow the entire Academy sky high.

‘I used it hurt people.’ he growled. ‘I won’t do that again.’

‘And that’s why you’ll never beat me.’ Kate said sweetly. ‘You have no killer instinct at all. You’re toothless.’

Her grip tightened and Derek started to lose consciousness. He scratched at her hand and arm but Kate wouldn’t let go.

At first he thought she’d let loose another blast wave, but then realised that the hand around his neck was gone. He choked, trying to get as much air into his lungs as possible. There were flashes of brilliant white light and Derek rolled onto his back, squinting at the bolts of what looked like lightning lit up the hall. He heard someone screaming. It took a second to realise that it was a woman’s voice and one more to identify it as Kate’s.

Derek used every last bit of strength he had to get to his knees and what he saw made him gasp. The stone tomb that Kate had crushed Stiles and Lydia in had been blown right open. He couldn’t see Lydia, but Stiles was standing there in front of him. He had both arms spread wide and a look of pure fury on his face. The lightning was coming from him, striking right into Kate’s chest as she danced like a marionette in front of him. She was screaming but it was in defiance, not pain. Derek unsheathed his claws and roared, leaping forward to bury them in her but she caught him neatly and flung him around and straight into the lightning Stiles was creating seemingly out of thin air.

It felt like Derek was being burned from the inside, the pain indescribable. Worse than that, he completely lost control of himself and his shift melted away, leaving him helpless in Kate’s grasp. The lightning crackled one last time around him but Derek barely registered it as this time Kate started to crush his throat with no signs of stopping.

She shouldn’t have been still standing, not after an attack like that. Her face was scorched, her hair still smoking and Derek could smell the charred skin on her neck and chest.

‘Do it again little alchemist. And I’ll crush his throat and kill him right in front of you.’ she spat.

‘Kill him and you will not walk out of here.’ Stiles’ voice was like ice.

Kate laughed and her grip tightened and Derek went limp. He could hear Stiles yelling at him and deep inside him, something started to uncurl and snarl at what Kate was doing to him.

He tried to focus, the effort so great that it made him lightheaded. In his head, he could almost hear his mother talking to him.

 _We are predators, but we don't have to be killers_.

She’d ruled Beacon with a firm, just hand. It hadn’t been enough.

‘Derek!’ Stiles sounded like he was crying. ‘Fight! You can’t let her win!’

Derek’s eyes snapped open. Stiles was right. He’d been running for so long, he’d forgotten what he was. Kate had called him toothless, but she was wrong. He’d been strong enough to kill his entire pack, wolves with years of experience and far stronger than he had been as a cub. If it wasn't for that one thing Derek had, he could have well burned right along with them.

The air around him was still supercharged, oxygen rich and all he had to do was ignite it. He just needed a spark. Luckily for him, there was one in the shape of a gangly student alchemist right behind him.

‘Stiles.’ he croaked. ‘Do it again.’

Kate cut him off, choking him hard enough that Derek was pretty sure his neck was about to snap.

‘Don’t’ she ordered Stiles. ‘I’ll kill him.’

‘Maybe.’ Derek didn’t need to see him to hear the vicious smile in Stile’s voice. ‘Or he’ll kill you.’

‘He’s not shifting, sweetie.’ Kate sneered. ‘He can’t hurt me and if you try…’

She never got the words out. Even in his compromised state, Derek heard the snap of fingers clearly and it was all he needed. He let go of everything, loosening his ironclad hold on himself. He’d never learned how to control his alchemy but now it really didn’t matter.

The fire seemed to start deep down inside him, the tiniest flare quickly turning into a raging inferno fueled by all the guilt and pain and anger he’d been carrying for six years. The air around him burst into flame, and Derek threw everything he had at it. He could feel the transmutation circle between his shoulders burning bright enough to incinerate his uniform but it was not enough to stop him. Kate was screaming in his face, her skin blackening and her hair aflame. She was trying to let him go, but Derek grabbed her arm with both hands and used every last bit of strength he had to keep her there, turning the fire on her and weaving it into a noose to strangle her with.

Their eyes met and he could see the fear in them but it wasn’t enough. Derek wanted to destroy her until she was nothing but ash so he turned up the heat and watched her burn.

-

Peter had had a complicated relationship with fire since the the death of his pack and his brush with mortality, so when the corridors leading away from the hall filled with a deep orange glow and he could practically hear the flames, he panicked and fell over onto the ground.

Erica and Boyd also hesitated and it was all it took for Ennis to knock them both off their feet before letting loose a roar that shook the windows. He started running in the opposite direction and Kali followed him like their tails were on fire. Peter was left scrambling to his feet once he’d recovered his wits and they all looked at each other. The fire was raging somewhere in the Academy ahead of them, they could all hear it and smell it.

Peter gagged when he got a deep breath of the acrid smoke that was starting to creep into their hall. He recognised the stench of burning flesh all too well. He met Erica and Boyd’s frightened gazes and they all knew what they were witnessing. Without a single word to each other, they ran for the corridor that would take them to the fire.

-

Stiles shrunk in on himself, settled over Lydia to try and protect her as best he could. He’d retreated to the half collapsed mass of stone that Kate had trapped them inside. Now it provided welcome shelter from what was going on outside. He’d known that keeping one’s alchemy backed up the way Derek had obviously been doing was not only incredibly difficult but also very dangerous. He’d never seen it though and the sight before him was equal parts terrifying and utterly breathtaking.

Derek was the centre of an inferno of his own making. His shirt had been burned away and Stiles could clearly see the tattooed transmutation circle on his back glowing with power. The entire hall was on fire, the air choked with heat and smoke as Kate was immolated. She was still screaming, her body desperately trying to heal herself over again and again. Stiles had his suspicions that her luck was going to run out though and that the Philosopher’s Stone she had wouldn’t only be able to cope with Derek’s attack for so long. Derek had both hands around her arm, holding her in place. His face was human, set in an expression of grim determination. Stiles had never seen him like that before.

‘Please.’ Kate choked out and Derek tilted his head. His eyes went gold, and when he snarled in her face his fangs had dropped once more.

‘Please?’ he spat. ‘Please? When I begged you not to hurt them, I said please. I screamed it until my throat was raw. I begged you to let them go and you made me kill them all!’ The flames around them leaped higher and the skin and flesh started to peel away from Kate’s face and body, her clothing a smoking ruin. ‘You showed them no mercy and now you’ll get none from me!’

He threw her to the ground and she landed on her knees. Her upturned face was ghastly, blackened skin cracking to show crackles of red light underneath.

‘You can’t kill me!’ she screeched. ‘Nobody can kill me! I’ll heal from whatever you throw at me!’

‘Maybe.’ Derek stood tall. He had one hand clasped to his side, the other held out towards her almost as if in supplication. ‘Maybe I’ll just have to keep killing you until you die.’

This time the flames were cleanly directed, a never ending stream of brilliant flame that lit up the room around him and reflected in his gold eyes. He held it perfectly steady and Stiles held Lydia tightly and hoped like hell he was never on the receiving end of Derek looking like that.

Kate’s screams were starting to grate around the edges. She was trying to crawl away but Derek was unrelenting and eventually she ended up on her knees in front of him, her head drooping as the fire washed over her like a wave. The red light inside her was starting to seep out in crackles and she looked up at him. Her clothing had burned away and Stiles could just make out the mark on her upper arm, a red dragon eating its own tail around a six pointed star. He thought of the stories of War, the homunculus known as the Fuhrer and felt a deep seated horror at the thought that Kate had used the Philosopher’s Stone she’d created from the Hales to do this to herself.

The fire finally died away and they were left there, fixed in their tableau.

Now Stiles could clearly see the source of the red glow, the stone embedded deep in Kate’s chest and revealed by her charred ribs.  
‘The puppy has teeth after all.’ It came on a sigh.

‘I grew up pretty quickly the night you killed my pack.’ Derek replied. ‘I haven’t been that child for a very long time.’

He stepped forward and Stiles held his breath. He thought Derek might finish her off but all he did was gently brush her cheek with his outstretched fingers.

‘Time for you to die.’ he said and Kate exhaled, her body folding in on itself as she slowly started to disintegrate, turning to a fine black ash that caught the heated air currents still swirling around the hall and floated up and away until all that was left was the Philosopher’s Stone. It dropped to the ground with a glassy clatter and Derek crouched, picking it up and turning it in his fingers.

‘You used alchemy with no transmutation circle.’ he said and Stiles realised that he was talking to him.

‘No I didn’t.’ He fell back on his default response but Derek just smiled and glanced at him, his eyes still burning gold.

‘When Peter lost Sasha he went mad for a while.’ he said. ‘He did something he shouldn’t have done. Nobody else knows about it but the highest levels of the State Military and what’s left of our pack. It’s why he’s here at the Academy.’ His eyes faded back to green and the shrewd intelligence that Stiles appreciated about him was there, dancing in the pale green depths. ‘They don’t know about you, do they?’

Stiles sighed heavily. He laid Lydia down gently and got to his feet, coming out into the remains of the hall. The entire roof had burned away and he could just make out the stars through the clouds of smoke.

‘They don’t.’ he replied. ‘And I’d appreciate it you said nothing about it either.’

‘I don’t have much room to talk.’ Derek looked back at the scorch mark that was all that was left of Kate. ‘I just used my forbidden alchemy to kill the General’s daughter.’ He drew in a deep breath. ‘Who did you try to bring back?’

‘My mother.’ Stiles replied. He rubbed at his chest, the darkness around his heart that had been his price to pay making everything inside him ache.

Derek nodded.  
‘We all have our secrets.’ This time he gave Stiles a small sidelong smile and it made Stiles’ heart start beating madly, the ache subsiding just a little.

‘I’ll keep yours if you keep mine.’ he replied and Derek huffed a soft sound that was almost amused. He strode over to Stiles and for a second Stiles had no idea what was happening until Derek took his hand and pressed the Stone into it.

‘I always thought that my dying would be the best thing that could happen to me.’ He was frowning and, without thinking, Stiles reached up, rubbing his thumb at the line between Derek’s thick brows.

‘You can’t die.’ His voice was shaky. ‘Then I’d never get a chance to tell you that I think you’re amazing and that even though I’m a clumsy, annoying asshole, I really like you.’

Derek’s look of astonishment was not entirely unexpected but the beautiful heartfelt smile that followed was. Stiles tried to surreptitiously pinch himself to see if he was dreaming.

‘I’m not exactly vying for personality of the year either.’ Derek’s mouth quirked. ‘But for what it’s worth, I really like you too.’

Then he completely blew Stiles’ mind by leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to his mouth, the press of lips bordering on chaste. Even so, it was enough to make Stiles go scarlet and start stammering as soon as they parted.

‘Oh.’ He really couldn’t put any other words together.

‘Yeah.’ Derek said, still smiling as he tapped Stiles on the nose with his forefinger. ‘Oh.’

Stiles broke out into a wide grin. He was about to launch himself back at Derek when he heard Lydia groan. They turned and saw her sitting up, a hand pressed to her head and her eyes wide as she looked around at the room, some of which was still burning.

‘What the hell…?’ she started but was interrupted by Peter, Erica and Boyd stumbling into the hall from the other side, all looking extremely worse for wear.

‘Holy crap.’ Erica looked around her. ‘Derek?’

‘Jesus.’ Boyd was equally stunned. ‘Did you go supernova?’

‘Kind of.’ Derek replied and he was staring at Peter. ‘I killed Kate.’

‘Oh thank fuck.’ Peter said and sank to the ground. ‘I really wasn’t looking forward to having to do anymore fighting.’  
Stiles couldn’t help it. The choked off laugh just came out and he was horrified, slapping both hands over his mouth. He caught Lydia’s eye and then felt even more appalled when she smirked at him and Derek.

‘Not only that.’ she said. ‘You also managed to miss those two locking lips.’

‘Oh?’ Erica’s voice went up an octave. ‘We did?’

‘Damn.’ Boyd was grinning. ‘I didn’t think you’d ever manage to get there.’

‘That’s because they’re both hopeless.’ Lydia came over, still wobbly on her feet. She got to Peter and sat down next to him. ‘Christ, I’m exhausted.’

‘You and me both.’ he replied and put a protective arm around her.

Stiles snorted and met Derek’s eyes. They were warm and hopeful and he wanted to drown in them.

‘Better late than never, right?’ he asked and Derek growled softly and bumped their noses together.

‘Do you get the feeling that they’re going to be insufferable?’ He glanced at their friends and Stiles snickered.

Absolutely.’ he replied, sliding both arms around Derek’s neck and kissing him again.


	8. The North Wall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter in this part, but I think I'll be back :) Thank you for reading and hope to see you next time!!!

The train whistle blew to signal they were leaving the station and Stiles jumped, startled awake by the piercing noise. He’d been so excited about the impending journey, but it turned out that extended train travel did nothing for his easily distracted brain and he’d gone almost an entire day before crashing, his face smashed into Derek’s shoulder.

Derek snorted a soft laugh and settled back into the seat. They had a compartment to themselves and there was still another eight hours to go before they got to North City. The landscape had been steadily changing as they climbed in altitude, the agricultural lands changing to pasture dotted with brown and white cows, the villages they stopped in full of little white houses framed in dark wood. Once there, they would be met by a driver who would take them deeper into the mountains until they got to the massive range that separated their country from the one to the north and the enormous wall-like fort that was called the Fort. It was a land of permanent snow and ice, harsh and unforgiving and ruled over by the Major General that they called the Northern Wall - one Laura Hale.

Stiles was equal parts trepidation and excitement. He’d never ever left the city before and he was terrified to leave his father behind, but Chris Argent had given him his personal assurance that Noah would be safe, as would Cora and Peter and the rest of the pack that had been left behind.

He did wonder just what Chris had done to secure their safety, but nobody was telling them. Not only that, but Stiles knew that whatever Chris had, it was serious leverage.

-

Allison stared at her father. Chris was in his chair, chin resting against his hand. On her right, Peter Hale sat and stared at the glowing red stone, his face unreadable.

‘All that death.’ Chris sighed. ‘For this.’

Allison kept her mouth shut. She was now on the inside, as it were. Her father had had a very long conversation with her the night of the attack on the Academy and Allison had had to do a lot of growing up. It had thrown her even more than her mother’s death had, but she knew what she needed to do.

‘How many people do you have that you can trust?’ Peter asked. ‘And I mean, really trust.’

‘Not as many as I would like.’ Chris admitted. ‘Two less now that Stiles and Derek have been sent away.’

‘They’ll be safer with Laura.’ Peter replied. ‘Derek needs to train, to learn to control his alchemy and Laura will guard him and Stiles with her life. Also, I think you’ll agree he has a far lower chance of setting the place on fire if he’s got a hundred feet of ice to burn through.’

Allison wasn’t sure why they’d sent Stiles with Derek. He wasn’t a graduated Alchemist and her father, Noah and Peter had all been extremely reticent on that particular detail. Nothing she’d done had found any particular reason for his release from the Academy and the rest of her friends and Derek’s packmates were also at a loss. Lydia was acting shifty so she probably knew something, but getting secrets out of her was near impossible.

‘Then it’s settled.’ Chris said and now he was addressing her. ‘You’ll be our link at the Academy. Anything I need to pass on will go through you and anything you hear you pass back to me.’ His ice blue eyes narrowed. ‘And Finstock has been warned about you trying to sneak in, so don’t think you’re going to get away with that little stunt again.’

Allison had to bite her lip to keep from retorting. She caught Peter smirking at her and gave him a small smile back. She was pretty sure that there was definitely something going on between him and her father and it would be good to have a comrade in arms against the immovable force that was Chris Argent.

-

Derek rested his head against the window of the compartment, watching the scenery speed by. Next to him, Stiles had gone to sleep again and he breathed in, taking in Stiles’ scent and steady heartbeat.

_Erica and Boyd went to meet the arriving City Watch forces. Derek stood trying to process, his eyes darting to Stiles._

_‘Derek.’ Peter had his hand on his shoulder, eyes glowing blue and his scent sharp with worry. ‘We need to have a plan for this.’_

_‘He’s right.’ Lydia said. She was watching Stiles intently. ‘The State Military are not going to be happy.’_

_‘I’ll take the fall for all of it.’ Derek squared his shoulders, instinctively stepping in front of Stiles. ‘I’m the one that used my alchemy and I’m the one that killed Kate.’_

_‘And he’s the one that used alchemy he has no business knowing how to use.’ Peter was staring at Stiles. ‘I know the feel of it, that you don’t need a transmutation circle.’_

_Lydia looked shocked, but then she glared at Stiles._

_‘You never told me.’ She was accusatory and Derek growled at her, his protective instincts kicking in._

_‘I couldn’t, Lyds.’ Stiles replied. ‘You know what they’d do if they found out.’_

_‘And therein lies the conundrum.’ Peter said. ‘As soon as the State Military get here, they’re going to be all over both of you. We need something we can use as leverage, something that can keep this quiet and both of you in the Academy.’_

_‘How about this?’ Stiles asked and flipped the red stone in his hand into the air. Peter caught it neatly, his face going pale when he realised what it was. He looked wordlessly at Derek, who nodded._

_‘She was a homunculus?’ Lydia asked and Peter growled._

_‘So were the others that were here tonight. Kali and Ennis. I’ll bet my ass that the other one that Isaac saw was the same.’_

_‘You said nobody would ever do that again.’ Lydia was white when she looked at Peter._

_‘You knew about this?’ Derek raised an eyebrow at his uncle. Apparently, Peter was sharing things he really shouldn’t have been._

_‘She knows almost everything, apart from what happened with you.’ Peter replied. ‘Although, I’m guessing that’s not the case now.’_

_‘No.’ Derek huffed. ‘It’s not.’_

_‘This is good though.’ Peter had his scheming face on. ‘The more of us that are able to stand against him, the better our chances of survival.’_

_‘Who?’ Stiles asked but Derek had a horrible suspicion he knew the answer already._

_‘The man responsible for this, the deaths of our pack and what I’m sure will turn out to be a thousand more atrocities.’ Peter said. ‘Gerard Argent, or the General of Beacon as many are wont to call him.’_

Derek breathed in deeply, feeling the power inside him uncurling. He tightened his arm around Stiles, focusing on him entirely until he calmed enough to be able to breathe normally again. He knew all about anchors. His pack had been the thing that had kept him tied to his humanity before the fire. After that had been anger, but then it had changed until his new pack had filled the void. Now, the wolf side of his brain insisted that Stiles was part of that pack and needed to be protected. They were both in danger, he had no doubt about that. All he could do was hope that Peter, Noah and Chris’ strategy for keeping him and Stiles away from Gerard and another attack would work.

There had been chaos in the wake of the attack. Noah had taken charge along with Parrish and his forces had sealed off the Academy until Chris had arrived with his own trusted cohort of soldiers and alchemists. He and Stiles and Lydia had been hustled away by Peter to HQ and the Archive. There Derek and Stiles had recounted the whole story of what had happened with Kate and Stiles had told the tale of how he’d tried to resurrect his mother. Peter had listened with a serious expression, before taking Stiles away into the stacks. Derek knew what he was about to tell him and He and Lydia had sat in awkward silence until Noah had arrived with Chris.

The number of secrets that had been revealed that night was truly astounding. Chris had told them his suspicions that Gerard had been behind Kate’s murder of the Hale pack, and Peter had filled in his ideas as well. To their surprise, a lot of what they were saying was echoed by Noah and Derek had had the pleasure of seeing Stiles completely speechless in the face of his father’s shrewd intelligence.

It had been decided that they needed to get Derek and Stiles out of the city before they were arrested by Gerard’s minions and accused of something that would see both of them thrown out of the Academy and possibly charged with Kate’s death. Peter had pointed out that there was literally nothing left of her but ash and the Stone, so if they played their cards right nobody would even know she’d been killed. The other homunculi had already absconded, taking Harris with them, and almost everyone else involved had only seen the huge mutated werewolf. Chris had been skeptical, but eventually he’d agreed and Noah had taken him and Stiles to the nearest station.

It had been awkward and sad to see the way Stiles and his father had said goodbye. Derek had had a lump in his throat throughout the entire ordeal, thinking about his own parents. Noah’s eyes had been red rimmed when he’d finally gotten them aboard the first train to North City, pressing a large quantity of money on them that he’d no doubt taken from Chris. They had no luggage to speak of, simply the uniforms they wore and enough cash to make their trip comfortable.

‘Go north.’ Noah had said. ‘You know where.’

Derek had met his eyes and nodded, feeling his stomach lurch when Noah had gripped his shoulder the same way his father had used to.

‘Look after him.’ His eyes had been shiny with tears. ‘And don’t let him bamboozle you into anything stupid.’

He’d stayed on the platform until the train had pulled out, waving goodbye until they were out of the circle of light and racing through the darkness.

‘Mmmph.’ Stiles muttered into the side of his chest and Derek found himself smiling.

‘What?’ he asked and Stiles raised his head, blinking up at him blearily.

‘Dude.’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘How are you so warm?’

‘Werewolf.’ Derek replied, resisting the urge to just kiss the sleepiness of Stiles’ face. He snickered when Stiles’ stomach announced that it was also awake by growling very loudly.

‘Sorry.’ Stiles’ cheeks went pink. ‘What time is it?’

Derek gently pushed him off and checked his watch.

‘Breakfast time.’ he announced, getting up and holding out a hand. ‘Come on, let’s go eat. I’m starving too.’

The buffet car was thankfully empty and they were served by a tired looking steward who brought them an insane amount of food and coffee and thankfully left them to it. For the first twenty minutes, they both had their heads down as they inhaled eggs and bacon and thick slices of buttered bread until finally Stiles lifted his head and looked Derek in the eye.

‘So, on a scale from very to royally how fucked do you think we are?’ he asked and Derek choked on his coffee and then started laughing once he could breathe again.

‘I’d say royally doesn’t even come close.’ he replied. ‘But there’s a reason nobody in the State Military fucks with Laura. We’ll be okay.’

‘I know.’ Stiles fretted, worrying at his napkin. ‘It’s my dad I’m most scared for.’

‘Gerard won’t touch him.’ Derek replied. ‘The entire city would riot. Besides, he’s got Chris and Peter looking out for him and my pack too. Also, he didn’t get to be Sheriff by being a shrinking wallflower. There’s plenty of stories about Noah Stilinski during the war, believe me.’

‘Yeah.’ A proud smile flickered across Stiles’ face. ‘What do you think they’re going to do?’

‘I don’t know.’ Derek shrugged. ‘But knowing Peter, it’s going to be far more dramatic than it needs to be.’

-

Peter squared his shoulders, put on his most arrogant smirk and strode through the main hall of HQ with a confidence that he had worked years to master. Next to him, Chris chuckled under his breath.

‘We’re going to be putting a target on both our backs, doing this.’ he said softly enough that only Peter could hear.

‘Rather a target on my back than Derek’s.’ Peter growled, flashing a glimpse of fang. ‘I won’t let him hurt anymore of my pack.’

‘You’re sure about the homunculi?’ Chris asked as they climbed the stairs and he nodded.

‘I know what I saw and what I fought against.’ he replied. ‘Someone is making them from werewolves and that is possibly the worst thing I can imagine. There’s at least three of them out there and they’ve taken Harris. That alone makes me shudder to think what they might be up to.’

‘Chimeras.’ Chris sounded disgusted. ‘I always said that he was a plant. We found letters from Kate in his room, hidden under the floorboards. He helped her to incapacitate your family and assisted in their murder. If we catch him, it’s enough for a court martial.’

‘If we catch him, I’ll kill him myself.’ Peter flexed his fingers, willing his claws to stay hidden. ‘But I think with you here, me at the Academy and Noah in the city, we have a decent shot of taking back Beacon.’

They approached the double doors that signalled the entrance to Gerard’s office. His aide-de-camp, an odious woman named Tamora Monroe, gave them a sour look.

‘Lieutenant-General Argent.’ she said, her voice icy. ‘You were told to report alone.’

‘I know.’ Chris smiled, perfectly polite. ‘But Colonel Hale is here at my request.’ The disdainful edge to his voice was music to Peter's ears.

‘Nevertheless, he cannot be permitted to enter.’ Monroe insisted, her mouth a flat line. ‘He shall have to stay outside.’

‘ I don’t think so, Captain Monroe.’ Chris smiled and it was mildly threatening, as was the emphasis he put on her rank. ‘Now, do I have to open the door and announce myself, or are you going to do the duty the Military actually pays you for.’

Monroe looked like she was on the verge of replying, but instead got up. She made a show of straightening her uniform before going to the doors and opening them.

‘Lieutenant-General Argent and Colonel Hale.’ She stepped aside and Peter was delighted to see the malicious gleam in her eyes. He took a deep breath as he passed, committing her scent to memory and mentally adding her to the list of people he’d eat if given the chance.

He followed in Chris’ wake, smiling at the way Gerard’s eyes narrowed when he saw them. He was behind his desk, fingers linked across his stomach.

‘Chris.’ He didn’t stand to greet them. ‘What is the meaning of this? I told you to report with regards to the attack on the Academy and how the hell something like that happened on your watch? Instead you bring me this?’ He gave Peter a disgusted look.

‘Interesting thing about the attack.’ Chris replied, completely calm. ‘It turns out that Kate has been making herself very busy. The murders from the past few days have all been linked to her and she was directly responsible for the attack last night.’

‘Nonsense.’ Gerard spat. ‘It’s one thing for those morons on the tribunal to buy that sob story the Hale brat told about your sister, but you should know better.’

‘I know my sister all to well.’ Chris said, then his mouth quirked in a cruel little smile. ‘Or should I say, I knew her.’

It took only a second for Gerard to catch on and the look on his face was priceless.

‘You always were a lying little prick.’ he snarled. ‘Kate would never have been bested by a bunch of children and some washed up alchemists.’ This last was definitely directed at Peter and he inhaled deeply, preparing to relish the moment he was about to orchestrate.

As calmly as he could, he stepped forward and placed the Stone he’d been holding in his closed fist on the desk. It glowed a soft ruby red, the lives of his family still so vibrant and full of power.

The effect on Gerard was immediate, the smug arrogance falling away to be replaced by incandescent anger.

‘You.’ he breathed, looking between them and going almost puce in colour. ‘You’re both going to pay for this.’

‘Yes, I’m sure you’ll try.’ Chris said. ‘But I am finding it very interesting that you did not need to be told what this is or how it’s in any way connected to Kate.’

‘Kali was quite distinct when she said that they’d been changed.’ Peter added, gleeful at the way Gerard stank of fury. ‘She said “He did this to us.” I don’t think any of us need to say just who that is.’ He leaned forward, hands on the desk and watched Gerard’s eyelid twitch. ‘You killed my sister for this office, so you could sit in her chair and play with all your little toy soldiers. Well, that stops today.’

‘You have no power here.’ Gerard blustered. ‘The Military is loyal to me.’

‘Not as much as you think.’ Chris replied. ‘But you’re right. We can’t unseat you. A coup would only drown Beacon in needless bloodshed and I will not see that happen. But we can curtail what you do and we will be watching every move you make.’

‘We’ll start with the Academy.’ Peter added. ‘You’ll keep your filthy hands away from it and if I so much as catch a sniff of any threat to me, Derek or any of my pack I’ll expose you.’ He met Gerard’s eyes and they both moved at once, Peter beating him easily to the Stone, snatching it back and secreting it in his pocket. ‘This is going to be my insurance.’

‘And the same goes for the City Watch.’ Chris was now standing shoulder to shoulder with him. ‘Noah has been informed of everything that has happened under your command so don’t expect him to cooperate either. You may hold power for now, but you will no longer play God with people’s lives. I’ve sent Derek away, somewhere your vile tentacles cannot reach. Allison knows what you are and she will be keeping an eye on what happens at the Academy and reporting to me. Apart from that, there are others and we will all be watching.’

Gerard did not reply, still simmering as he watched them turn on their heels and stride out the office. Outside, Monroe was talking to a tall man. She stopped when they came out and Chris gave them a nod.

‘You may want to reconsider the side you’re on Captain.’ he said and she frowned. ‘It’s not going to be the winning one for very much longer.’

Peter wanted so dearly to cackle, but managed to keep a straight face until they were out of earshot.

‘Did we just make the biggest mistake of our lives?’ he asked and Chris huffed.

‘I have no fucking idea.’ he said. ‘But I do know that right now I need a drink, you and some sleep, in that order.’

‘Yes, sir.’ Peter chuckled and followed him down the stairs.

-

It was afternoon by the time they reached North City and Stiles shivering like crazy, in spite of the greatcoat that Peter had acquired for him while at HQ. Fat snowflakes drifted down around them as Derek walked ahead, looking around him with interest.

‘How the hell aren’t you freezing your ass off.’ he muttered and then huffed when Derek glanced back at him, one dark eyebrow raised. ‘Yeah, yeah werewolves. I know. It’s no freaking fair. I think my balls are already half solid.’

‘We need to get to the Fort.’ Derek replied, grabbing Stiles’ arm and dragging him along. ‘And for that we need a ride.’

They got out the station and then stopped dead because there was a cheerful looking man leaning against a military vehicle. He was wearing a State Military uniform trimmed in black fur and his blue eyes and bronze curls looked frighteningly familiar. Derek let out a pleased sounding growl and ran to him, embracing the man like they were long lost brothers and flashing his eyes at him. Then Stiles saw the man’s eyes glow gold in response and suddenly it all fell into place.

‘Another werewolf?’ he asked as he got to them and the man laughed. He had a Captain’s pips and Stiles saluted accordingly, even though Derek had not.

‘Not necessary.’ the man said, still smiling. ‘I’m Camden Lahey.’

‘Isaac’s brother.’ Stiles replied. ‘Of course. You’re part of the Fort command.’

‘I am.’ Camden turned to Derek. ‘How’s my baby brother doing?’

‘Holding his own.’ Derek replied. ‘How the hell did you know we were coming?’

‘Peter.’ Camden replied. ‘He has his ways.’

‘Great.’ Derek rolled his eyes. ‘Did he also fill you in on why we’re here?’

‘No.’ Camden moved around to the driver’s side of the vehicle. ‘It’s above my pay grade.’ He motioned to the vehicle. ‘Get in, you know that the General doesn’t like to be kept waiting.’

Stiles’s eyes widened at the honorific, but Derek didn’t react. They got in, Stiles taking the back seat and trying to fold himself down out of the cold. Camden started the engine and they began the drive out of town. Once they were outside the cluster of houses and into the flat lands around North City, he gave Derek a look.

‘So what the hell did you get yourself into?’ he asked, sniffing the air. ‘You smell different.’

‘It’s a long story.’ Derek replied. ‘And I’m only going to tell it once.’

‘Fair enough.’ Camden replied easily. ‘You know that we hear things though. You also know that the Fort doesn’t belong to the Military the way it thinks it does.’

‘It’s why we’re here.’ Derek said. ‘There’s been a lot of shit that’s gone down in the past couple of days.’

‘And I can guess what kind of shit it is if you’re involved.’ Camden growled. His eyes met Stiles’ in the rearview mirror. ‘What about you, recruit? How do you fit into all this?’

‘Like Derek said, it’s a long story.’ he replied and Camden grinned.

‘This is going to be very interesting.’ he said. ‘I can’t wait to hear it.’

By the time they were driving along the long mountain pass that led to the Fort, Stiles was starting to think he’d probably freeze to death before he ever got to tell his side. He blew into his hands, making a mental note to track down some gloves as soon as they arrived at their destination. In front, Derek and Camden were talking about the pack.

They round a corner, taking the road as it ran between two massive peaks before opening up into a valley that was easily a few kilometres across. At its narrowest point was a massive structure of black stone, it’s edges stark against the snow and incredible to see. Stiles sat with his mouth open as he took it all in, feeling completely insignificant in the face of something so astounding.

Camden drove all the way to the base, and a huge door slid aside to reveal darkness inside. Stiles’ brain raced through everything he knew about the fabled fort, that it was a maze inside and that its honeycomb of passages held research facilities, gunnery ports, barracks and stores by the dozen. It was completely self-sufficient, with its own electricity supply and enough resources to sustain its battalion for two full years if need be. He could see why it was the perfect place for him and Derek to take shelter.

Camden stopped the vehicle and now Stiles could see three figures walking out from the dark entryway. The one in the middle was tall and athletic, moving with an authority that immediately identified her. On her left was a woman, on the other a man. Both of them bore the rank of Captain, just like Camden did.

‘Simmons and Cannon.’ he said. ‘Laura’s right hand and left hand.’

Stiles nodded, his eyes drawn to the North Wall. Like her brother, Laura Hale was incredibly striking to look at. Unlike other soldiers, she did not tie her hair up in the required military style. Instead, it hung loose, a great dark wave that swept across her face and covered one light eye. Stiles was pretty sure that they were probably the same mesmerizing mix of colours as her brother’s. Her face was stern, her full mouth the only real indication of softness about her and yet it only served to make her look more regal. She carried no firearm, only a sword on her hip in a nod to a time past when officers fought with such noble weapons. Her cloak billowed out around her as she got to them, her chin lifting as she stopped and gave them all a scrutinising look.

Stiles took his cue from Camden and snapped to attention, noticing that Derek did the same. They all saluted and there was an amused gleam in Laura’s eyes as she returned it, her form absolutely flawless.

‘So, little brother.’ she said and even her voice screamed absolute authority despite its throaty purr. ‘What have you got yourself into this time?’

That comment somehow managed to get right under Stiles’ skin. It wasn’t like Derek had asked for any of this to happen to him and maybe it was the stress of the previous evening, leaving his dad behind or maybe just everything, but Stiles found himself getting indignant on Derek’s behalf.

‘He didn’t get himself into anything.’ he blurted out. ‘Kate Argent decided to land on Beacon and bring all her homunculus friends with her to try and destroy the academy! If it wasn’t for your brother, I wouldn’t be standing here right now and all my friends could be dead, so maybe cut us a little slack!’ He blinked, realisation kicking in when her eyebrow climbed a little higher, cringing at how he’d just mouthed off to a superior officer. ‘Sir! I mean, Ma’am! I mean, General. Major-General, sir!’

‘Oh God.’ Derek groaned and Camden was just gaping at him.

Stiles sighed, his shoulders drooping as he waited for the axe to fall. Instead, he got the shock of his life when Laura hale started chuckling. It was as deep and throaty as her voice had been and he looked up to see her mouth turning up just a little and her one eye sparkling.

‘Oh Derek.’ she said. ‘You really know how to pick them.’

‘I know.’ Derek muttered, his ears scarlet. ‘In my defence, he’s probably one of the most talented alchemists we’ve got and he’s on our side so there’s that.’

‘Oh good.’ Laura’s mouth quirked into a proper smile. ‘Thank you for that explanation, Major Stilinski. I’m glad you are on our side, especially seeing how fierce your defence of my brother is. I can assure you that I am well aware of what Kate Argent did to him, as are all our pack and I take the threat to his safety very seriously, as I do yours. I have a great deal of respect for the Sheriff.’

‘Yes, sir. Ma’am.’ Stiles wished the ground would just open up and swallow him.

‘Laura.’ Derek’s voice was soft. ‘Stop it. You’re going to make him cry.’

‘She made me cry six times in my first week here.’ Camden muttered out the side of his mouth.

Laura’s eyes narrowed but then her face smoothed out and she turned on her heel.

‘Come along then.’ she said over her shoulder. ‘If you’re going to be staying, you’ll need better clothing than that. Major Stilinski looks like he’s about to freeze his ass off.’

‘That’s true though.’ Stiles muttered under his breath when Derek directed the Eyebrows of Judgement at him. ‘And your sister is the scariest person I’ve ever met.’

‘I’m also a werewolf, Major Stilinski.’ Laura added. ‘I can hear everything you say, even if you don’t want me to hear it.’

Stiles meeped and shut his mouth. Derek made a noise that sounded suspiciously like he was choking on a laugh. They followed her inside, the two officers moving to flank them while Camden went back to the vehicle. Stiles took the opportunity to elbow Derek and got a glare.

Laura led them to an elevator at the back and they filed in, Laura’s subordinates moving aside so it was just the three of them. The elevator was clearly made for freight and Stiles shuffled a little closer to Derek as the doors closed and it started its ascent, the speed of it making his stomach lurch. He stared at the back of Laura’s head, startling when the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. What he saw made him gasp.

The elevator had stopped at the highest level of the Wall and the view before them was spectacular, the valley on the other side sloping down and away as far as the eye could see in a sheet of pristine white. It was utterly beautiful and he couldn’t stop himself from rushing to the railing and peering over it, his breath catching. Derek was next to him, his green eyes just as wide and the smile on his face just as delirious. They turned back at the same time to see Laura smiling at them both. This time it was warm and full of affection.

‘Welcome to the Wall, boys.’ Her eyes flashed once, alpha red. ‘And don’t worry about Gerard getting to you here. This is my den and this is my pack and I take care of my own.’

Derek’s smile grew and he moved into her open arms. Laura scented him gently and Stiles berated himself for ever thinking she didn’t care. He was a little surprised though when she let go with one arm and extended it to him.

‘Get over here, cub.’ she ordered. ‘You’re pack now too.’

Stiles was hesitant but Derek let out a reassuring growl and he went to them, letting Laura fold him into her arm and rub her cheek against his. She smelled like wintergreen, sharp and fresh and a little bit wild and he relaxed into her werewolf warmth and felt safer than he had in months.

‘Thank you.’ he muttered, trying to discreetly spit out the fur trim that got into his mouth. Laura snorted, sounding just like Derek and Peter as she let them go.

‘You’re going to have to tow the line here.’ she said. ‘And earn your keep. The Wall is a harsh place but we make it work.’

‘We will.’ Derek told her. He glanced at Stiles for confirmation and Stiles nodded vigorously.

‘Excellent.’ Laura smiled. ‘Then let’s get started, shall we?’

She led them back inside the elevator and the doors slid closed and as they descended into their new reality, Stiles couldn’t help feeling that they really were in the best place they could be.


End file.
